Is it common to have more then one ablation?

[Euve]

Since I joined this wonderful group,it seems very common that people who get ablations quite frequently get more then one , if a second ablation is needed is the process as long as the first one Thank you

[BobD Volunteer]

Some people are lucky and get fixed first time then go away and enjoy their lives so we never hear from them. If you have simple AF and a cryo ablation you maybe lucky but if there are additional rogue areas you may need a touch up with RF ablation as the cryo balloon can only do so much. I had three RF before my AF was fixed eleven years ago. Horses for courses.

[Euve in reply to BobD]

Thank you for the answer, was the process same length the second or third time?

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Euve]

No idea as I was always asleep (GA) . There is no way of knowing as the time you get back to the ward is not relevant as you may have been sleeping in recovery for a while anyway. Prababaly four to five hours but not sure. Does it really matter if you get fixed.? I think my cancer op was longer but again never paid any attention. Just relieved to be alive. lol 😁

Cryo is faster but as said more limited in scope.

[Breezera in reply to BobD]

Hi Bob. Regarding those additional rogue areas.. I've discovered that in addition to their cyroballoon device(s), Medtronic has developed a family of single point cryoablation catheters to ablate cardiac tissue. These cryoablation catheters have been designed to treat AVNRT and PAF (i.e. cryoablation of focal trigger sites). I think this is a good option for those who need a touch up and have a preference for cryoablation as compared to RF ablation.

Link to cryoablation catheter product website: medtronic.com/us-en/healthc...

Btw... thankfully/gratefully I'm still completely A-Fib free 9 months after my first and only PVI cryoablation.

Cheers Richard

[jeanjeannie50]

My first ablation took 3hrs, second 6hrs and third 5hrs.

Jean

[CDreamer]

My first - 7.5 hours and 2nd - 7 hours but that was sometime ago now - 5 years - and the knowledge, skill and technology is now so much far advanced that I believe 1-3 hours is quite common.

[Ryan2012]

Same amount of time for me. I had 3 before I was cured. It’s been 6 years since my 3rd ablation at Mayo and I’ve been AFIB free! So beautiful to have a smooth beating heart. One doctor said it was time for a pacemaker after 2 ablations but the doctor from Mayo said do a 3rd. Thank you Mayo Clinic!!

[Larry0304]

My second was much longer than the first and needed more recovery time.