Can anyone help?

[gillyflower13]

Hi fellow af sufferers - have been away from here for a while - have been in and out of hospital with episodes of atrial fibrillation!! May now be able to undergo an ablation procedure. Apparently there is a 6 months waiting list to see Cardiologist and possibly another 6 months before the operation. I live in Northampton and the nearest hospital who carry out this procedure is in Oxford. Has anyone had an ablation procedure in this particular hospital and has it been successful? Would appreciate any feedback??

From a very anxious Gilly flower.

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Oxford would be my nearest too, I haven't had any procedures there but I had my heart MRI there. It seems to be a specialist heart dept. You can choose papworth if you prefer. Good luck.

[mrsg46]

Hi gillyflower13 , I understand your concerns after suffering with multiple episodes of AF and lots of hospital admissions, to be told that the waiting time for an ablation will be somewhere near a year after taking in the time to first get a consultation.

I have had three ablations at the John Radcliffe in Oxford, unfortunately non of which were successful but I'm sure there are many others who will have had just one and not needed another. If you are able to you could bypass the first consultation waiting time by seeing one of the EPs privately, this will cost in the region of £200 - £250 but then you can choose when you want an appointment and it may possibly speed up the time til you have an ablation if that's what the EP recommends you have.

Have you been told Oxford is your only option or are you able to choose a different hospital, such as the Papworth in Cambridge? The AFA website also has a list of hospitals around the country with practising EPs, and NHS guidelines say that you have a right to choose which hospital you are referred to. I guess in practical terms you would need to think about after care etc and how easy or difficult it would be to access this in terms of distance, but if the hospital has a good team of arrhythmia nurses then phone calls and emails will be just as helpful in answering any questions or concerns you might have.

I wish you all the best and hope everything works out well for you.

[gillyflower13 in reply to mrsg46]

Hello mrsg46 thank you for your very helpful reply regarding our medical situation. I am sorry to read that your ablations in Oxford have not been successful. I am rather pinning all my hopes that this op will help me. One of the Dr's from John Radcliffe (Dr Pederson) visits NorthamptoN Gen Hsp so I will be able to attend her clinic but the op will be done at Jon Radcliffe. I am seriously thinking about paying for my 1st consultation (as you mentioned the cost of this ) I will definitely do this. I am seeing my GP on Monday who I am hoping will contact Dr Pederson and request a speedy consultation - if not then I will pay. Do you have long periods of af or is yours spasmodic?. Take care of yourself and I will keep in contact with you.

Bext wishes

Gilly flower 13 Northampton