Had an ablation done last Thursday and afterwards was told that it was cryo ablation for pulmonary vein isolation in left atria and RF ablation for atrial flutter in the right one. Just curious if anybody had both done during the same procedure.
Thank you all from the bottom of my healing heart for sharing your experiences and support!
Once the catheter is in either can be used. You can't use Cryo in right atrium anyway so understand why this was done.
I had exactly that last May, must say I found it a little uncomfortable to say the least when they actually started the procedure but overall very well worth it.
I’m back in the gym regularly having been taken off all my medication 3 months after my operation.
I still have the odd twinge /sensationfrom. time to time but life is back to normal on the whole
Thank you Woody for sharing your experience. I assume you were under sedation, hence being "a little uncomfortable", mine was done under GA and I couldn't feel the procedure at all, however had some post operative side effects of GA. It's encouraging to hear that your life is back to normal - may it continue this way!
Thank you...... yes sedation apparently is the what we do in Wales. 3.5 hours of what wasn’t too bad other than the actual procedures which I can only describe as not pleasant (cryo and RF) were causing me to move involuntary!!!!
I’m told it will come back eventually but enjoy it whilst it lasts. Which is what I’m doing at the moment.
I certainly think our lifestyle has a major impact and cause of AF. Diet, sleep and stress certainly aggravate and bring it on....... as well as laying on my left side use to trigger it all the time !!
Did you feel the catheter guide up to your heart? Did it hurt when they did the cryo/ RF? I’m soon to have an Ablation, docs want me to be just sedated, but I really want GA.
If that is what you want, Then have it or change dr. I would NEVER have sedation or a procedure like this.
I had the combined procedure from Prof Richard Schilling. He used the cryo to do 3 PV's. The 4th PV was too wide and it would have damaged the phrenic nerve if a cryo balloon had been used. Phrenic nerve injury can be a serious complication with cryo balloon use. So he used RF for that and also one or two other sites in the left atrium such as the ligament of Marshall which can only be done with RF.
That was 9 years ago and It was successful so I was very pleased.
Can I ask if alcohol was a trigger for you, and have you been able to have the odd drink post successful ablation?
And di you have flutter as well as fibrillation or just fib?
Cheers,
Marcus.
No, alcohol was not a trigger. Before my ablation I went alcohol free for 3 months and it made no difference. My drinking has always been very moderate anyway (1 medium glass of red wine p.d.), and I did resume after the ablation. I just had AF and not flutter.
So encouraging to hear Mark about your successful results and I appreciate you taking time to share this and also (previously) your help with the warfarin decision which I had to face due to the high costs of Eliquis here in US. After some struggle, I was fortunate to find a cardiologist who didn't mind prescribing warfarin and for now have weekly testings for INR which so far has been behaving - mostly in range. Hope you continue staying well for years to come!
9 years, how wonderful MarkS. As you had RF ablation in sites beyond the pulmonary veins, were you in persistent AF when you had your ablation ?
Because Prof Richard Schilling was ablating at the ligament of Marshall site , did you have primitral atrial flutter? In other words, did he ablate in the left atrium both for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter?
I had an ethanol infusion in the vein of Marshall for perimitral atrial flutter so I was wondering if we had about the same.
Hi Cuore, I just had parox AF though it was up to around 80% of the time by the time I had my ablation. That was one of the factors that made me go for the ablation then, if I had waited much longer I would have gone persistent/permanent and the success rate would have dropped a lot.
I don't think I had flutter. After isolation of the PV's I had regular atrial tachycardia which appeared to be mitral isthmus dependent. A mitral isthmus line accelerated the tachycardia from the the ligaments of Marshall and ablation at this site terminated the AF. (Extract from the procedure report). So it was quite a complex procedure which I don't think your average EP could have done.
Mark
That explains your nine years AF free-- you were still in paroxysmal. In my country and province, I was allowed to get into persistent for which after two ablations done in a different country, I am still struggling to correct. So, I have booked myself back in that country even though I have to pay for it as I have had to pay for the previous two.
My two ablations were done by two world renown electrophysiologists certainly of the calibre of Prof Richard Schilling, but the "waiting time" in my country created the huge damage that even the best electrophysiologists have not been able to terminate with two ablations only.
Such is the price one pays both medical and financial caused by GP and AF clinic waiting time. I strongly present not to be allowed to get into persistent.
Yes I had both done under a general in August 2017 Cyro in the left atrium and RF in the right for the SVT and other things going on , took me a good 12 months to get any better and the healing process was long for me as I had a lot done .
Glad to hear you are better even though the recovery was long, but hopefully it was worth it and you'll continue staying well!
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