Thanks for the update Marilyn!
My husband had the same thing, atrial fibrillation (a-fib) 3 years ago. They shocked his heart (actually he has an internal defibrillator due to his heart failure, so they just fired his own defibrillator) and it stopped the a-fib. Now he takes medication and it has been completely controlled. But you are right, medication does not work for everyone.
Interestingly, in May my husband developed atrial flutter which is almost the same as a-fib, but the heart rate does not go as high. Unfortunately, atrial flutter does not respond well to medication so he had the exact same procedure that you and your husband are going to Houston for. It is called a Cardiac Ablation. It is usually more successful in atrial flutter because the cells that are misfiring and causing the flutter are in the same pattern or in the same pathway - so all they have to do is burn out that pathway.
In a-fib, it is more difficult to determine (or map) where the cells are misfiring because they are misfiring in a more random pattern than in atrial flutter. You are absolutely correct in that the electrophysiology procedures have gotten much better in the past few years so that they can now better map the misfiring cells and then burn them (kill them) appropriately.
It is a very easy surgery. My husband got to come home in the afternoon after having it in the morning - but we live 10 minutes from the hospital so going from Houston to your hometown, that may not be the case. Also, he will likely have to take coumadin for a little while longer, maybe only 6 weeks, and then it will be stopped. But maybe not in your husband's case.
Sometimes in a-fib, they have to burn out so many cells to get it stopped, that the person has to have a pacemaker (and I can't remember, maybe your hubby already has one???) Anyway, even if he doesn't and he has to have one, that is OK too. It just means he won't be able to go through the metal detector at the airport (or other buildings). My husband says he gets "stripped searched"
in lieu of the metal detector.
I hope everything goes well for your husband. Mine has very serious heart failure and he did great with the Cardiac Ablation - so I'm sure your hubby will come through with flying colors. Update us when you can.