Ablation yesterday

[Londongul]

I have just had my cryoablation for AF done yesterday and wanted to share my experience. I had been dreading it for the last 3 months and it is finally over! I decided to do it privately in St Barts Hospital under GA. My procedure was scheduled for 18.00 yesterday, I was admitted to the hospital at 16.00 and taken to the cath lab at 19.30. I was worried sick for no reason! I was given GA and the whole procedure took 1.30 mins and they woke me up around 21.00. I was immediately told it was a success and taken back to my room. The only discomfort I felt was a chest pain right after the procedure and they gave me paracetamol in the drip to get rid of it. I had to lay flat for 3 hours and was connected to the monitoring until this morning and discharged home at 10.00 am. I feel fine apart from a few occasional ectopics and a little bruising on my leg.

I am very happy with the care I received from my consultant and Barts private patients service. The only thing I would have done differently now that I would choose the other Anaesthetist for my GA. It was my first GA and I was hoping to meet him before the procedure but he was quite late and I had to wait for him with the rest of the team in the lab. When he arrived he was really rushing which added a lot to my anxiety.

My advice to those who are still delaying the ablation - just do it! It is not even 1% as scary or painful as you imagine it! I wish I had done it earlier. In my case, the worry about GA was far greater than about the actual procedure.

[jennydog]

I had my ablation, with GA, in Liverpool. The Anaethetist was extremely careful to check my teeth for caps as it is not unusual for them to be dislodged.

I hope you take the rest,rest,rest advice seriously.

Very best wishes

[Londongul in reply to jennydog]

Thanks Jenny. I have already took 2 weeks off and not planning on doing anything other than rest

[Dodie117 in reply to Londongul]

Two weeks is very short. Be aware that you may still be having arrhythmias (might even get worse for a time) and you may still experience tiredness and lethargy. Heartbeat may also be raised for up to a year. So I hope your work is not too taxing as you don’t want to jeopardise your recovery. Healing takes time. It took 5 months for me to feel normal. That was 2013 and no more af.

Good luck and be kind to yourself. 🍀

[Londongul in reply to Dodie117]

Thanks! That’s a bit tricky with my work because anyone who takes more than 3 weeks of sick leave needs to go to occupational health in order to go back to work, which can make my life very difficult. I don’t want to jinx it as it is only day 2 post ablation but I haven’t felt that good in years, possibly in a decade. Today, I realised that I actually no longer rely on Sotalol (however I still continue to take it)

[Dodie117 in reply to Londongul]

🤞see how you are in two weeks. Going to OH is not the end of the world. Take care and again good luck 🍀

[BobD Volunteer]

Now read our recovery fact sheet and above all REST.

[Londongul in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob!

[Lilypocket]

Thanks for sharing this positive experience. So pleased for you. I am heading that way as I've tried different meds but am still getting breakthrough PAf so cardiologist has started talking about ablation. Just one question how can they tell so quickly it was a success?

[Londongul in reply to Lilypocket]

I am not a specialist but I think they managed to map the area causing AF during the EP study. I believe a few other people on this forum were told about the outcome straight after the procedure. Good luck with your ablation in future !

[Buffafly]

In my ablation they 'paced' my heart to try to initiate AF after the first burn. The first time AF started so they had to cardiovert my heart, then had another go at burning/pacing and when AF didn't start again it was considered successful.

[Beta44]

Just out of interest, Was, the ablation actually carried out at Barts or was it at London Bridge Hospital, who did the ablation and who was the anaesthetist.

Peter

[Londongul in reply to Beta44]

The ablation was carried out in St Barts Hospital. My personal preference was to have it done in the NHS hospital rather than private. It was done by EP Ross Hunter who was absolutely brilliant and I would be confident to recommend him to anyone. I don't feel exactly the same way about the anaesthetist so I don't want to mention him here. My advice is, do your research rather than go with the anaesthetist your insurance company recommends.

[Beta44]

I didn’t realise that private procedures were carried out at Bart’s. Mine was by Prof. Schilling from Bart’s but at London Bridge. He always worked with the same anaesthetist so I had no choice. Nevertheless a highly satisfactory outcome.

Peter

[Londongul in reply to Beta44]

Yes, they do bartshealthprivatecare.com/... I came from London Bridge Hospital as well )))

[cmundo1972]

Rest and be kind to yourself. Wishing you a speedy recovery!