Dr B. Maesen started his training in Cardiothoracic surgery with a 4 -years fellowship at the electrophysiology lab of Maurits Allessie and Uli Schotten in 2006. Based on the research performed in this period, he obtained his PhD with a thesis on structure-function relationships of atrial fibrillation waves in goat and man. During his surgical traineeship he was trained in arrhythmia surgery by Mark La Meir. With his deep understanding of electrophysiology and manual skills, he was soon able to take over the hybrid AF ablation program and together with the electrophysiologist Laurent Pison and Justin Luermans and with the support of Harry Crijns, he developed an international highly acclaimed minimally invasive hybrid arrhythmia surgery program at Maastricht University Medical Centre. He became staff member in the Cardiothoracic department of the Maastricht University Medical Center in 2017 and is currently head of the Arrhythmia surgery program. He has set up a translational research program with focus on improving outcome in surgical AF management by better understanding of basic mechanisms and concepts. He supervises several PhD students and demonstrates his educational and managerial skills by helping other centers, both national and international, to start their own AF minimally invasive hybrid AF program. As an internationally-recognized expert in arrhythmia surgery, he is a frequently invited speaker and panelist on congresses. His international network includes all current and former well-known arrhythmia surgeons.
