Hi I'm due to have my 1st ablation on the 10th of feb after a delay due to my doctor getting covid in Jan. Has anyone had this op in basildon? I'm very nervous as I havent had an AF attack since dec 14th and im worried after the op it may kick off again and get worse.
Dave
Whatever the end result, you will need quite a period of recovery, far more than you will be told by doctors so please be patient. Although not specifically about surgical ablation, the following fact sheet on PVI type ablation will still apply to most of your recovery.
Hi, yes I had an ablation in Basildon by Dr Tan's team in November 2020. It went extremely well, and I have been free of Afib ever since, and off of nearly all the drugs I had been taking previously.
In my experience the cardiac centre in Basildon is excellent.
All the best
Colin
Thanks so much for the feedback
No weird feelings in your heart days and weeks after the ablation?
Hi
I took it very easy indeed for a day or two (as they had kept me overnight in hospital and was a bit woozy after the procedure which lasted just over 3 hours, and I was 76 at the time). After that I slowly built up to my normal exercise regime over the next month or so. I had two spells of migraine like symptoms lasting a few hours (this is common), but that is all.
On discharge they put be on Sotarol (a beta blocker) but this made me bradycardic, so with cardiac nurse advice (BTW they are a great and very supportive) that was stopped within 24 hours and I have only been on Epixaban since.
I am really pleased with the outcome.
All the best
Colin
I had 2 ablations done at Basildon CTC back in 2010 by Dr Stuart Harris, couldn't ask for a better team. I am still under them and have an open appointment as and when I need it.
Good to know thanks
Hi Dave do you mind me asking if this is surgical ablation (keyhole surgery via the chest) or catheter ablation via the groin. I’ve been searching for surgeons that do surgical ablation in the U.K. so it is good to know there is someone else. Wishing you best of luck and hope all goes well for you and the horrid afib be gone!
it's a catheter ablation via the groin. Stuart Tan is the lead consultant in Basildon which puts me at ease.
Ah not surgery then so our fact sheet applies fully. I didn't think there were too many people in UK doing surgical ablations.
Hi dave I had an ablation at basildon hospital by Dr tan 6 weeks ago . The hospital and staff are absolutely brilliant and they couldn't do enough for me .
The ablation itself was far less of an ordeal then I thought it would be . On waking up from ga I had some chest pain when breathing for a couple of days and a sore throat from the the ga but that was it .
Am now 6weeks post ablation...I am at this time disappointed at how I am feeling I've had two afib episodes since the ablation but not for 4 weeks now but last 3 days I'm getting ectopic beats all day but hr dosent go higher then 84bpm so don't know what to think at the moment
The arrhythmia nurse team at basildon are excellent ...only a phone call away for help and advice and a direct link to Dr tan which is a comfort after ablation
You will be in good hands .
If I need a 2nd ablation I won't hesitate to return to basildon hospital
Hi Sunnyann,
I replied to Dave below….just curious really, please can I ask, how did you get put forward for an ablation? How long did you have to wait? I’m paroxysmal AF, once a month attacks ( used to be yearly up until last year) self terminating within 10 hrs usually but were getting longer, so was put on bisop - 2.5 but currently weaned to 1.25. Bisop stops my attacks, but I know it won’t when I get off it ( this is my second attempt at getting off it) . I am attempting supplements and diet to hopefully help. I suffer with all the usual side effects of bisop, but the sleep issues are worst for me. Also have severe tinnitus….I can’t take calcium channel blockers. I’m not on blood thinners ( CHADS 0) though that worries me. I have Flecainide as a PIP and hate using it. I’m worried my Paroxysmal will become permanent if I don’t have an ablation soon. Cardiology at Southend ( who send patients to Basildon for ablations) very, very slow. I was promised a follow up consultation in January after only ever seeing them once, in October, but I haven’t had anything through, but I’m chasing. I feel they’ve just left me ‘to get on with it’ but I’m not getting on with it at all. I suffer from severe anxiety which of course isn’t helping. Have left 3 messages with secretaries and they say they’ve emailed my consultant, but nothing ever materialises. I just feel time is ticking by and I’ll get worse, I see this as my only chance of getting my life back 😕
Sorry for such a long message.
Thankyou in advance,
Teresa
P.S from what I’ve read , there is a 3 month blanking period, so could what you are experiencing be related to that? They say that it is the heart healing, don’t give up hope.
Hi Teresa ..I had the same experience as you with Southend hospital..after all initial tests which I paid for privately but worth every penny felt left to get on with it .
Sorry pressed wrong button ...!I kept reading here in the forum that an EP was the one to see as cardiologists only deal with the plumbing and not the electrics of the heart. I knew that if I waited for Southend hospital to refer me I'd be waiting for ages and my afib was becoming every day and my quality Iife was poor and with that I was feeling hopeless.
So I googled basildon hospital EPs and doctor Tan came up as lead EP. So I phoned his private secretary ab saw him within a week privately costing 200pound. He immediately put me on the ablation list back on the NHS. ..I saw him in June and had my ablation in December which I thought was quick considering the pandemic
Honestly..have an initial private consultation and see him just to jump the queues and then go back on NHS for the ablation....
Hi Sunnyann,
Thankyou sooooo much 😀 you have made my day. What you have suggested sounds perfect. I had never thought of that or that it was possible, but I can see how it would work. The cardiologist at Southend called me late November as I was so anxious and struggling and he suggested at some point that I speak to an EP at Basildon, but he never formally recorded our conversation or made notes. I know they’re all busy but I do feel I don’t matter. When I had my initial cardiogram and met him in October, when I got his notes and formal letter recording what was discussed it arrived three weeks later and said we met in November. I just don’t know what to think any more and losing confidence.
Thankyou so much again - and I really wish you all the best in your recovery after the ablation and really hope it’s 100% successful for you and what you are experiencing is just the healing.
Teresa
Call Dr tan secretary in the morning ..you do not need a referral ...and spend the best 200 pound you've ever spent. I do know he had covid last month so he may have a backlog but get a consultation booked . Honestly I know how you feel . I was at my wits end before I saw him and he gave me hope .
I couldn't get on with bisop or flecanide so took verapamil which is a calcium channel blocker but I know you said you can't take them . They didn't really help me hence him putting me on the ablation list .
You will need to be on blood thinners for at least a month before your ablation.
Let me know how you get on Teresa...I 100% know how you are feeling .
Private message me if you prefer
Ann x
Hi Again,Please can I ask….we’re you paroxysmal AF before your ablation? What meds were you on….I see you struggled with meds…what were your struggles? I am hoping I can get on the list though I know I’m not as extreme as other cases. I just can’t get on with my life and can’t see a future. I don’t tolerate bisop at all. I know you will understand. Others think I’m fine on it, but I know how I feel….
Thankyou,
Teresa
Yes I was paroxysmal af like you bit mine were every day and anything and everything everything would start an episode and the episodes were twice a day ...sometimes lasting a couple hours and sometimes lasting 10 hours or more but I always reverted back into nsr on my own. Bisop made me feel like the living dead and I couldn't function on them and then I tried flecanide which made my afib worse and then verapamil which I'm on still which hasn't really helped but it helped a little but side effects aren't pleasant . I'm hoping when I see Dr tan for 3 month post ablation consultation he may look at reducing them ..that's if he feels the ablation has been a success
A lot of people couldnt understand what I was going through cause from the outside I looked fine . ..but I was literally unable to function ...I did less and less and my confidence went down hill .
My advice when you see Dr tan is to tell him your quality of life is very poor ...I cried in my consultation with him ...he is a very compassionate doctor.. not like some of them .
Please ...private message me in here anytime. Its nice to find somebody in my area that is suffering g like me .
Are you in Southend?
Hi Teresa, well I was told the waiting list was 6 months plus so I booked a private appointment to see Dr Tan in Basildon. He told me I needed to have the ablation done and it would cost 20k private so I asked him to put me on the NHS waiting list. To my shock I was offered the ablation within 6 weeks of seeing him on the NHS. So my advice would be, pay the £200 fee to see a private doctor and ask them to add you to the NHS waiting list. I can't believe how quick I got in. Good luck
Thanks Dave,
Your answer is similar to Sunnyann’s, I had no idea before that this could be done and seems the way to go. I have tried to call his secretary but her phone is switched off 😬 so I’m putting an email together whilst I write this.
I wish you all the very best in your journey and please keep us posted about how you get on.
Teresa
Hi Dave & All,
I’m quite new here and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you manage to get put forward for an ablation, as Basildon hospital is where I would go. I’m really suffering with my condition ( anxious constantly) currently trying to wean off Bisoprolol for 2nd time - it’s the only thing I take for paroxysmal AF. I can’t sleep with Bisoprolol and it’s doing me in.
Cardiology at Southend hospital very, very slow in appointments and I’m waiting for a follow up after being diagnosed AF in Sep 21,( though I was undiagnosed for 10 years). I’ve only seen the cardiologist once. My echocardiogram all good, I have nothing structurally wrong with my heart. I just can’t tolerate Beta blockers and they know I can’t take calcium channel blockers either. I have Flecainide as a PIP but I don’t like it….I am constantly scared of my condition. I was getting AF every month leading up to diagnosis, but I know it was anxiety that was triggering it. CHADS score 0 ( I’m 56) cardiologist said I could ‘talk to someone at Basildon hospital’ about it, but I’ve heard no more. I’ve left 3 messages with his secretary to chase up my follow up. They just don’t reply!
Help!
Thankyou,
has anyone had an ablation that worked well without problems in the blanking period.
Has anyone out there had my problem. 
Has anyone been seen at st bartholemews hospital in London and svt
Pace and ablate more info please of the procedure ie surgery and how it’s carried out 
Please help 🙏 Im trying to find HOPE. Has anyone had successful surgical treatments following very long standing AF due to Cardiomyopathy. 
