Second rf ablation ?

[Elsieclarke]

Haven't posted on here for a while. Had a cyroablation in january 2017 but they only managed to do three of the veins. I had lots of af in the 1st few months after procedure but since june 2017 only have af for about 5 minutes once evey fortnight or so. So definitely an improvement. Went back to see my ep today for my return appointment and asked if possible to get fourth vein done. He said if i was still having episodes then yes but told me about the risk. He would do rf ablation so there was less likelyhood of phrenic nerve issue. He said he would also touch up other veins. So should get my ablation about february. Is rf ablation similar in terms of pain during and recovery ?

[jennydog]

i had an RF ablation and don't remember any real pain beyond a bit of discomfort and I didn't feel my heart for 6 weeks. Since then I have had occasional mild AF.

Apparently 25% of the population have conjoined veins entering the heart as one large hole. The cryo balloon is too small to cope with it so RF is necessary. I am one of the 25%.

[Kiwi2]

Hi, I had a cryo ablation in Jan 2015 and an RF ablation last week as I was still getting AF episodes but far less. They had isolated all 4 pulmonary veins in 2015 although I was still in AF when they had finished so did say I may need another one. I found the RF ablation a lot kinder on my groin as no bruising at all. I think the RF catheter is much smaller than the cryo one. They isolated 3 of the veins as gaps had formed and when finished where not able to stimulate AF so time will tell whether it has been successful.