Where can I get the Watchman device fitted privately.
I have a/f and take blood thinners, I mentioned it to my doctor and the answer I got was none of my patients have had it fitted.
It seems you have to have a drastic event before they will consider it.
I would like to get it done on the NHS but that does not look likely.
If you type watchman device in the search box top right corner it may come up with something.
Watchman is not approved by NHS although in extreme circumstances such as if a patient has some medical reason whuyanticoagulation is unwise it may be possible. There are good reasons for not using this and similar devices as we are still not fully aware of what the LAA actually does and some doctors believe it is a useful part of our hearts for BP control maybe.
Reluctance or predudice against anticoagulants is not a good enough reason. and it has to be one of greatly increased bleeding risk. (and not for example because somebody wants to take part in dangerous sports) .
My BP has in the main been very much lower since having the Amplatzer amulet fitted. The consultant at the hypertension referral centre wondered if there was a connection.
Recently posts about the latest thinking about the cause of strokes in AF suggest there is more involved than the LAA - have a look at Oyster's posts.
It depends on where you live. In London The Harley Street Clinic or London Bridge Hospital although there will be many EP's doing it elsewhere.
I had an Amplatzer Amulet fitted in April 2017 privately by Professor Hildick- Smith in Brighton.
The Watchman and Amplatzer are approved by the NHS but due to a cost moratorium are not being funded after the successful Watchman trials at the London AF Centre at the London Bridge and St Bartholomew’s Hospitals. The clinical trial of 700 patients had demonstrated that the Watchman is as effective as warfarin in preventing stroke. The Amplatzer was successfully trailed at ten UK hospitals in 2016. Somewhere on this site the AF Association were campaigning for it to be resumed for NHS patients and asked those who were unable to take Warfarin to contact them for advice. I noticed the link again last week but cannot see it at the moment.
The Amplatzer procedure was cheaper than the Watchman when I first looked at the procedures and the Amplatzer has a wider range of sizes. I had to take Plavix for a month after the procedure and a 75mg aspirin for six months.
If it is done in the morning you are out of hospital the same day. Mine was delayed to late afternoon so I had an overnight stay and travelled home by train and bus the next day.
How much did it cost and what is the procedure for getting it done privately.
I would like to have it done asap.
Do you fit the criteria for having it done on the NHS?
I have mentioned it to two doctors, and the reply I got was none of my patients have had it done. I think they only do the op if you are allergic to blood thinners.
I live in Sussex and knew that Professor Hildick - Smith did the trials there at the Royal Sussex Hospital but I was not fortunate to get on to them. I later contacted his PA and made an appointment to see him at the Montefiore Hospital in Hove. He did the procedure a month later privately at the Royal Sussex. At that time he had done over a hundred procedures.
It cost in total £9,406 His fee was £1,500 and £800 for the anaesthetist. The rest £7,106 was for the hospital charges, theatre, Theatre staff (about eight of them I was quite surprised )
I imagine that most major cardiac hospitals will have someone who can help you. The 2016 trials were carried out a ten centres.
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Thanks for the quick reply.
There is a Spire hospital about 8 miles from where I live in Washington Tyne & Wear.
I have already filled in a quote request form.
Hopefully I will get the op done.
The Freeman was one of the hospitals involved in the Trials so it is probably the same surgeon at the Spire. Out of London the prices are much lower. When I first enquired about the Watchman at London Bridge four or five years ago it was over £14K.
I didn't take it up as I was then told at my local hospital that I needed a pacemaker. That EP had fitted the earlier version of the Amplatzer to patients and we discussed the possibility of him doing it for me but then I applied to get on the Brighton trial for the new version.
It is great to be drug free though for some reason I seem to bruise just as easily since having stopped Warfarin.
Can you help me with the procedure, do you have to be referred by your own doctor to have an private consultation
I phoned the surgeons PA to ask and she said that I either could self refer or get my GP to do it. I made the initial appointment but asked my GP to send him my medical notes. The initial appointment was £250 and the post procedure echocardiogram was £160.
Did you ever get the Watchman or Amplatzer fitted ?
Have you already tried Ablation already and failed? The impant procedure for watchman looks similarly invasive. Whereas Ablation is going for cure vs watchman just helping you live with it. Why are you interested in watchman ahead of Ablation?
(NB: this is coming from someone who faffed about not having ablation for years and now wishes I'd done it sooner as I'm afib free right now)
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