I had ablation in 2016 which served me well until recently. Now I seem to be in and out of AF on a regular basis, initially going to rates of 150/160 but now mostly up to 80-100 which I try and see out at home until I return to normal rhythm.
EP had stated I need a further ablation as meds aren’t controlling it but waiting list is at least 15 months on NHS but if I pay myself I can get one in 6-8 weeks.
Due to quality of life, I’m seriously thinking of using my life savings up on getting one sooner by spending approx 10k.
anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Colutd
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it obviously depends on you and how affordable that is. I went private for my mini maze. I chose when and where I wanted to have it done. And more importantly I researched and chose my surgeon.
I’m about to go private for a hip replacement, again researched the method used and chose my surgeon who is outside my local area. I actually feel quite guilty as I am a big believer that healthcare should be available to all, when I said this to my NHS orthopaedic consultant he told me not to be daft, to look at it that I am freeing up a space for someone else on the NHS list.
Good luck with the op! I understand your feelings about going private, but you’re far better to get sorted than to wait around for years - especially with a family to care for.
thank you! Just need to pick my date, prob be end of the year as so much planned now I am free of afib, Off to champagne region with my school friends in a couple of weeks 🥂🥂🥂
off the question I guess but going private is not an unqualified good for NHS (although if you need to do it, do it!). The staff are likely to be all NHS trained, and they are attracted out by us paying a lot for them, their time is lost to others. The biggest shortage in the NHS is manpower
shortage of staff due to government for the last decade particularly under Jeremy Hunt have squeezed their pay and they are having to work in worsening conditions . They are not saints content to live on fresh air. They deserve to be properly remunerated or market forces take over and I don’t blame them
Anterior hip replacement is way quicker recovery than normal surgery. I've had both. I was forgetting my crutches at week two on anterior approach. Whereas I was a good six weeks before I would chance giving them up the other way. Also anterior wise, you can lie on your side, cross your legs, bend down, sit with legs crossed straight away. The other way is a long time. I'd highly recommend anterior.
hi Mary, anterior or superpath are the way I’ll go. I am leaning towards superpath at the moment. Defo not posterior that cuts through muscle and tendons!
I had no muscles cut, haven't heard of superpath, my doc was brilliant, Mr Paul McKenna in Waterford in Ireland. Under epidural as well with full sedation, remember nothing. And make sure you tell your anaesthesiologist that you don't want to hear, see or smell anything. Best of luck
Is the £10K figure you mentioned a definite quote or just a guess?
I saw my EP privately in order to get answers quickly and it was good value for £220. However when I asked about the cost of getting the CryoAblation done privately, he suggested about £17-£20K would be about right. This was in 2021 and I doubt the price will have reduced since then !
Please make sure you have a definite figure before committing.
I had a thoracoscopic mini-maze (and a holiday in Japan thrown in) six months ago for the same cost: including flights, hotel, food, all hospital expenses, hospitality.
If Japan can do it (with a high cost of living), why not the UK?
10k seems remarkably cheap. Are you sure that's not just your surgeon's cost? There's the anaesthetist's costs and then the ever moving target of the hospital's charges which, in my experience, are always considerably more than their original estimate, often by 1000s
I would be very surprised if the procedure can be done for 10k. I recently paid 5k for a biopsy.Speaking personally I would fund an operation if the cost was a modest proportion of my savings. Private health care is good but very expensive.
I think that private health care frees up a service for somebody else. It is not a moral issue. I think that the NHS is unfortunately in a bit of a mess.
As other people have said I had a quote for angio +~stenting for £16000-£20000 so £10000 does seem cheap. Can’t believe that the wait is 15mnths. There was only an 8weeks waiting list for my ablation on the NHS at Bart’s hospital and that was only back in late June last year and had it in August
I was quoted 3 to 6 months by my cardio at Barts last Friday. A bit longer if I wanted a general but I've opted for the tranquiliser route. On the list now.
In an NHS hospital (but privately done), expect to pay, I think, around £12,000. Compared with the US, this is a bargain, but that, of course, is neither here nor there.
Low rate AF is far easier to live with than high rate, so, if this were me (and I can see it coming), I would try hard with rate control and wait fifteen months, which might be less as waiting lists reduce and cancellations crop up. In 2019, with persistent high-rate atrial flutter and with rate control proving very difficult, I was so debilitated and, frankly, frightened by it all that I was grateful for my wife's private insurance that covered me and paid the costs.
It would depend upon your level of wealth, quality of life and how well drugs will work. Also, age is a factor, allied to the ever present likelihood of recurrence and the coming of persistent AF.
Life savings - sounds a heavy decision, with an uncertain outcome. Is the EP sure you would have a good result? Where do you live? Are you sure about the waiting time? Is the private option with a very experienced EP? A lot to weigh up. Best wishes
I had an ablation last September which has served me well so far. However I am having a knee replacement tomorrow done privately for £13.5k because NHS is a disaster and I would be waiting for ever if I relied on them. I know how much a successful ablation means so I would probably consider going privately rather than rely on the NHS. It is scandalous what successive governments have allowed to happen to the NHS. Hope you make the key decision and get yourself sorted out.All the best
I've thought about this as ablation will probably be my next decision having had a CV that kept me in NSR for just a week. Basically, I've come to the conclusion that if I use up 16k equity release on a single ablation, who's going to pay for the second "touch up" ablation if needed? Or a third? Or a pacemaker? And if I use up all my savings, how about that trip to my favourite Greek island, or visiting friends in Scotland? How will I feel if, after paying £16k, the operation fails? And what is success anyway? How about some of the wonderful brave people here who've not had brilliant success with treatment but who get on with their lives regardless? They, for me, are the real success story. I know how you feel because part of me just wants to throw money at it and make all the nasty Afib go away. I paid for a private consultation and a CV, and I'm back in Afib (persistent). And I'll stick with NHS now so whatever my health I've got some fall-back, both for myself and my husband.
I live in your beloved Greece and had a thoracoscopic mini-maze in Japan, everything included, for the same cost that you mention. I stayed for five weeks and loved every minute.
Oh wow, now I'm tempted! I almost said to colutd that they look into mini maze if considering spending that much. I'm so glad it has gone so well for you. Rehab in Greece sounds the ticket too .....!
Many thanks ! So far six months (in 13 days) in NSR since the procedure,
Still have a little more breathlessness than before and a higher HR, but all within normal range and, maybe, to be expected. Wishing you all the best. Saul
I imagine it takes the heart, lungs and chest cavity a while to fully heal. I understand its not so invasive as open heart surgery (which I had for hole in heart age 15) but nevertheless give it time and plenty of breathing exercises, a relaxation program, meditation, whatever - but in particular the breath. I was taught this in rehab and they were amazed at the speed of my recovery!
Hi, I had open heart surgery, pacemaker inserted and a few months later an ablation all done privately at great expense. Everyone says they have been successful but I feel rubbish lots of the time. The problem I have found is aftercare and who do I talk to. If I kept on paying for private consultations its expensive also 4 hrs drive away. It took 18 mths to get back into NHS system and see cardio at local hospital, even though I was told I would retain my place for check ups etc with local cardio. Now I'm in situation where my GP seems to have lost interest after going private and local cardio give me different opinions than private consultants, so who is correct, how do I know.
Still if you need it and can afford it get it done, my experience is just a prompt to ask some questions of your GP and local cardio first.
I really don’t want to rain on your parade and appreciate your desire to get things sorted asap. However, as your ‘Life Savings’ are being used, I would just sound a note of caution …
As others have said - this procedure sounds like a bargain!
Consultants have their favourite hospitals/clinics and these are not always the cheapest. They also tend to have a favoured anaesthetist - he/she may not be the most economical. Your drugs will be at private rates, not heavily subsidised as per NHS and you will need at least one check up post ablation. The other thing (although one we don’t like to consider) is what if there’s a further problem or a problem during surgery/post recovery - how will that be paid for?
I would either explain my situation honestly to my EP and ask for a cost breakdown ( to check he’s including hospital stay etc). Alternatively a call to their secretary (fees) and the hospital may give you some reassurance that the estimate is correct.
Good luck and hope you get things sorted very soon.
some good points there for consideration. Many thanks for pointing them out. I won’t have any more funds once the op has been paid for so I’ll need to think it through. Reality is though, I can’t keep living my life like this though, I’m on edge constantly in case I go into AF and it seems to be so often nowadays, after going so long without any at all.
Just reading all the comments. Although we all go into the procedure wishing for a success, it sadly doesn’t work for everyone.
I was lucky to wait only about 6 months, but sadly went back into AFib within 2 days. Prior to October last year I was staying days in AFib but would have a month of NSR in between.
I’m now in the position of having rate control only, due to the amount of fibrosis discovered. I am coming to terms with this more each day. However, if I had spent all that on two days of NSR then I wouldn’t have been too happy.
So another consideration is how you will feel if you pay for an unsuccessful procedure.
It's roughly 24-25k jn euro jn Ireland. Private hospital. Check your prices. Get a written fixed price from the hospital and EP. And I'd nearly guarantee you even with the price agreed in advance they will try to charge more. It happened me. I let the doctors secretary deal with the hospital overcharge.
Second to that. Get yourself put on EPs cancellation list. Are you that symptomatic that you cannot wait 18months. Make his secretary aware that you're available at very short notice, tell her you're an hour away. Have your bag packed ready to go just in case they get a slot during the day when someone has a temperature or something that prevents them from going ahead. Best wishes for whatever decision you make. Xx
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