Guest guest Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 Bottom line is that there is very little downside to the procedure these days so any upside would make it worthwhile and a success in my book. Gordon, is this really so? That there are few if any risks/downsides to having an ablation? Lil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 > Bottom line is that there is very little downside to the procedure > these days so any upside would make it worthwhile and a success in > my book. > > Gordon, is this really so? That there are few if any risks/downsides to > having an ablation? > Lil > Lil: Dr. Natale's staff told me that there was less than a 1% chance of permanent complications during or after the procedure. Also, they have never " lost " a patient during the procedure. Since the advent of inserting the esophageal temperature monitor the danger of burning through the esophageus and thereby killing you is eliminated. Stroke or TIA and puncturing the vessel walls with the catheter are the primary problems. Obviously there are risks with any surgery. Like anything else we have to evaluate the risk of continuing the way we are vs. the risk of something going wrong during a surgery or that it doesn't fix the problem. I don't think anyone would dispute that afib sufferers, contolled with drugs or not, are at higher risk than the normal population, soooooooo each of us gets to decide if the continuing risk of the disease sounds better than the risks involved with the surgery and the confidence we have in the EP's opinion of the chance of the surgery getting rid of the afib. One more thing in the decision process was what might come in the future to better treat afib. For me it was an easy decision as I wanted to be rid of it if at all possible and I knew that as I aged (now 68 y/o) other things might happen to me that wouldn't allow the surgery and I'd have no choice but to live with it. I wanted the best EP and the best facility availab, got them and had the surgery. I'm still in NSAR after 2 months and if I get afib again I'd do another ablation in a heartbeat. Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Gordon Your logic was very similar to mine a couple of years ago. There are always tradeoff's, but I came to same conclusion as you did. Glad to hear things are going well for you ! Thor Re: Gordon - ablation risks > Bottom line is that there is very little downside to the procedure > these days so any upside would make it worthwhile and a success in > my book. > > Gordon, is this really so? That there are few if any risks/downsides to > having an ablation? > Lil > Lil: Dr. Natale's staff told me that there was less than a 1% chance of permanent complications during or after the procedure. Also, they have never " lost " a patient during the procedure. Since the advent of inserting the esophageal temperature monitor the danger of burning through the esophageus and thereby killing you is eliminated. Stroke or TIA and puncturing the vessel walls with the catheter are the primary problems. Obviously there are risks with any surgery. Like anything else we have to evaluate the risk of continuing the way we are vs. the risk of something going wrong during a surgery or that it doesn't fix the problem. I don't think anyone would dispute that afib sufferers, contolled with drugs or not, are at higher risk than the normal population, soooooooo each of us gets to decide if the continuing risk of the disease sounds better than the risks involved with the surgery and the confidence we have in the EP's opinion of the chance of the surgery getting rid of the afib. One more thing in the decision process was what might come in the future to better treat afib. For me it was an easy decision as I wanted to be rid of it if at all possible and I knew that as I aged (now 68 y/o) other things might happen to me that wouldn't allow the surgery and I'd have no choice but to live with it. I wanted the best EP and the best facility availab, got them and had the surgery. I'm still in NSAR after 2 months and if I get afib again I'd do another ablation in a heartbeat. Gordon Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Lil, I agree with Gordon and Thor, that there are few risks/downsides to catheter ablation. But only if the EP who performs the procedure is extremely competent, skilled and experienced. I believe that it is only with the top docs that you can be assured of a procedure with the highest probability of success and the lowest risk of complications. If this means having to get on a long waiting list, then so be it. If you have to travel away from home, then that's what you need to do. Why entrust your heart to less than the best? It costs your insurance company no more for you to have your ablation done by Dr. Natale than it would cost them for you to have an inexperienced EP do it. Best, > > > > Bottom line is that there is very little downside to the procedure > these days so any upside would make it worthwhile and a success in > my book. > > > > > Gordon, is this really so? That there are few if any risks/downsides to > having an ablation? > Lil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 Lil, you have hit the nail on the head in exactly the right place. Yes you must find a Dr who is experienced and has done this before with a good track record. C Uk Lil, I agree with Gordon and Thor, that there are few risks/downsides to catheter ablation. But only if the EP who performs the procedure is extremely competent, skilled and experienced. I believe that it is only with the top docs that you can be assured of a procedure with the highest probability of success and the lowest risk of complications. If this means having to get on a long waiting list, then so be it. If you have to travel away from home, then that's what you need to do. Why entrust your heart to less than the best? It costs your insurance company no more for you to have your ablation done by Dr. Natale than it would cost them for you to have an inexperienced EP do it. Best, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.