Hi, I was diagnosed with AF a year ago and found this forum extremely useful and members very supportive. After a year of trying to ignore the problem, I finally went ahead and booked cryoablation for the beginning of July. I am going to have it done privately at St Barts hospital in London. I feel quite anxious because I never had any serious medical interventions before and I would really appreciate some advice. I have an option to have it done under GA or local. My EP said that if he would have to undergo the procedure himself he would choose GA because Transoesophageal echocardiogram has to be done. It sounds reasonable but I never had GA before and I am more worried about it more than the procedure itself. It would be nice to hear from people who had several ablations under both local and general. It also would be great to hear how long took you to recover after the op. I am 33 yo with no other health problems. I have 9yo son and demanding job, hence I am unsure how long I would need some help for and when I would be able to get back to normal life.
Many thanks,
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Londongul
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If I were you, I would be guided by your EP and have a GA. I have had both options and each has it’s pros and cons. The main disadvantage of a GA is that the recovery time in the hospital might be a bit longer but you are totally unaware of what’s going on during the procedure and for many that’s a great advantage. GA’s can cause nausea but they medicate for that if necessary. It is certainly easier for the EP because the patient is motionless which makes it easier for them to do their stuff. Try not to worry, it is a safe procedure and although there are risks, they are well controlled by the EP and his team. The factsheet’s should answer all your questions but if not, please ask....good luck and let us know how you get on.....
All my three have been under GA. Only way to fly in my opinion. If somebody is going to furkle inside my heart I do not want to be there. Flapjack has already pointed you to our fact sheets which i also commend to your attention.
By the way GA is a breeze. They put a canula in your arm or hand and when the time comes they inject fairy juice and whilst you are away playing with the fairies they do what they need to do. You will be a bit groggy when you come out of it but that is all for the good as you will want to rest which is the important thing.
I’ve had 4 ablations. The first with sedation and the other 3 under GA. Give me GA any day. You go to sleep and wake up when it’s all done. My sedation experience was horrid.
I am booked for an ablation on Monday. If given the choice I would definitely go for GA. Sadly not given the choice and having sedation. Personally I would rather be fast asleep and away with the fairies whilst they do it.
All the best with your procedure on Monday! I hope it goes smoothly. So far I prefer the sedation because I have an irrational fear of GA but I asked the insurance company to authorise the GA as well to keep my options open. I still have time to make up my mind before July.
Your recovery will probably take longer than expected, I had an ablation 7 weeks ago, if you read my posts you will see what my experiance has been like. I would go for GA if I were to have another.
I have had ablations with sedation and GA. I found that sedation did not give me enough comfort on the last occasion and from that time I was given GA. Most of my ablations lasted more than 5 hours and with GA I knew nothing about it.
You mention having a TOE I have experienced this with sedation and found it was not at all pleasant, with GA again I knew nothing- much better.
Regarding recovery you should rest a lot for at least a couple of weeks and then gradually resume normal life as your body feels - this is a key factor for success.
By the way my EP at Southampton General came from Barts 3 years ago. I cannot speak more highly of him and I am sure that the rest of the team at Barts are equally very professional and skilled.
I’ve had one ablation and it was under GA. Absolutely no issues. I didn’t need any pain relief after nor had any nausea. Although not related to the GA, bruising in my groin was minimal and soon disappeared. The only issue was that my family claim that my texts to them immediately after were confused 😐
I’m having another ablation under GA next week (privately, possibly the same EP as you).
One thing I should emphasise is that I found it incredibly difficult to take things easy in the couple of weeks after. I don’t think I did a good-enough job of this, over-exerting myself on occasions, so resolve to be better this time around.
I had sedation for my ablation and am very glad I did. I have had GA for a couple of other ops for other issues and I didn't like the side effects and the longer term side effects worried me too. With sedation you aren't really aware of what's going on and recovery is more rapid.
I had mine under GA for other medical reasons, however I really don't think I would have wanted it under sedation so I'm glad that it was the only option available.
Like you I had never had any medical interventions and had never been under GA.
It is worrying, but you are in good hands, for me it was just a feeling of the most overwhelming tiredness for a second, and then I was out for the count. I did feel groggy when I came round, and apparently I was shouting for people to leave me alone, but I don't recall this.
My 14 year old daughter had to have GA for a broken elbow repair a few months before my "big day" she calmed me down no end, if she could do it then I had to be brave.
Her explanation to me was "it's like the best sleep ever, with no dreams", and she was right.
the following year I had GA again for a gallbladder removal, and that was fine too
You will need to have at least 2 weeks of doing nothing, I know how difficult that can be, we moved house 7 days after my ablation and I did too much and my body let me know!
The issue was that I had no pain following my ablation, and felt really well as soon as the GA had worn off- probably about 2 days
In all honesty it was about 3 months until I got my energy levels back to pre ablation levels, but, you sound to be in much better shape than me, I was terribly overweight and pretty sedentary . That has all changed now though!!
in reply to
I will say that there is a longer waiting list for the procedure to be carried out under GA though, I think it added about 3 months to my wait
It's a pity you have to pay and as you say it will be more expensive under GA.
I had mine under GA 2 weeks ago. I wasn't offered sedation and was happy to have the GA (I am a nurse so it is all more familiar to me and I knew the anaesthetist :-)).
I'd rather be asleep ad if I had to have another I'd be OK with another GA.
Re your recovery, I felt fine and still do but I don't have a stressful job or a child to look after. I did get the visual aura mentioned in the recovery info. If it were me I would want someone around for at least two weeks. I was able to make cups of tea and pottered gently from the off but that was optional as my husband was home for 5 days to do all the chores. It is quite different from making meals for a 9 yr old and having to do everything.
I asked for a 2 week sick note, as standard advice at my hospital is 7 days and I didn't want to use holiday for the second week. My current job is not stressful, flexible and part time with a lovely line manager (yes I know I'm lucky). I would def get signed off as long as you can so no pressure from work and then see about returning in stages.
Really hope it goes well and that, like me, you feel OK afterwards.
My two ablations have been with sedation. No problem with either, pain wise and not too much post procedure discomfort. Totally out of it during the first. During the second one I woke and started 'chatting' to THE MAN. They just turned up the sleepy juice and I was away again. I believe some EP's prefer sedation so as the victim can 'shout out' if they experience anything untoward! So, I cannot speak of GA.
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