Method and devices for treating atrial fibrillation by mass ablation

An ablation apparatus for ablating target tissue of a patient, the ablation apparatus comprising:

• an insertion tool having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen;
• an ablator including a conductor and a tissue engagement portion, the conductor having a source end extending from the proximal end of the insertion tool and a delivery end connected to the tissue engagement portion, the ablator removably inserted in the lumen, wherein the tissue engagement portion includes a skirt and the delivery end includes an adhesive tongue inside the skirt, the tongue moveable within the skirt to engage target tissue, and the skirt affixing the ablator to target tissue by a vacuum;
• and
• an energy source connected to the conductor;
• the insertion tool configured to be inserted into a patient so that the distal end is adjacent the target tissue;
• wherein the ablation apparatus is configured such that:
• the conductor is operable to urge the ablator out of the lumen to engage target tissue;
• energy conducted from the energy source to the ablator is configured to create a footprint on target tissue to reduce an overall mass of excitable tissue.