Tamponade

[LizLancashire]

Has anyone had something go wrong during an ablation but then gone on to have a second successful one? I suffered a tamponade during my first 10 years ago and said I would never have another. My afib episodes have become more frequent, every 3 to 4 weeks and last from 12 - 50 hours. 18 months ago I put my name on waiting list for another and have risen to the top but extremely nervous about going through it again.

[BobD Volunteer]

Tamponade is one of many things you sign up for when you consent but seriously it is very rare. Would you expect to be struck bu lightning twice?

[LizLancashire in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob. I hope never to be struck by lightning once but I still keep hoping I’ll win the lottery even though there's more chance of the former happening

[lovetogarden]

Oh goodness, that would have been quite scary. So sorry you went through that. Understandable that you’d be concerned about another procedure. Have you talked about your very understandable worry with your doctors? And asked what they’ll do to avoid it happening again? Wishing you the best of luck! ❤️

[LizLancashire in reply to lovetogarden]

Yes I have talked to Cardiology staff who said they'll take extra care next time. My thought was I hope they take extra care every time.

[lovetogarden in reply to LizLancashire]

Wow, not exactly the best answer in some ways, right? Yes, you would hope they’d be super careful every time! I’d be telling every medical person I meet on the day of the procedure how concerned I am about what happened the first time, just to reinforce it.

I had a much less worrying after effect from anesthesia during an ablation, and I always mention it several times to all the appropriate staff during medical procedures. I think that’s helped prevent the problem from happening again.

[Cookie24 in reply to lovetogarden]

Good advice. I had a terrible gagging effect with the first anesthesia so now I tell everyone.

[lovetogarden in reply to Cookie24]

That’s smart! My problem resulted in further surgery, they bruised my vocal cords and could on,y whisper for a few months. When it didn’t heal on its own, I had surgery to remove the resulting nodule. 😢

[Cookie24 in reply to lovetogarden]

Oh my

[BobD Volunteer in reply to LizLancashire]

Back in 2004 when I first met my EP he told me that one very rare risk in ablation was death. I asked him when he last killed anybody and he looked shocked and said never. I then told him to put me on his list for the week after he did so I would know he would be more careful.

Twenty years later we are still on first name terms.

[LizLancashire in reply to BobD]

The EP who did the ablation told me afterwards it was his first tamponade but luckily he'd not long before read a paper about it.

[lovetogarden in reply to BobD]

Love that Bob! Your doc must have a good sense of humor. My EP is wonderful, but having a sense of humor isn’t the first characteristic that comes to mind. 😀

[Ppiman in reply to LizLancashire]

Goodness, what a thing to happen. Poor you. Ah well - you're here to tell the tale. Presumably they know the reasons for the first problem? From what I have read, such occurrences can be owing to individual anatomy or other reasons.

I think what they said about this coming one was no more than a manner of speaking.

Steve

[LizLancashire]

Yes I've mentioned it to everyone I've seen so far and certainly intend to do so on the day.

[Spin-off]

Oh my goodness Liz-I’m so sorry. I had my third ablation in 2020 which also resulted in tamponnade. Like you, I survived and like you it’s made me very reluctant to ever have another ablation.

As BobD says it’s a known risk-and very rare. The first for my very experienced EP. Fortunately, with medication, I continue to be well at the moment. However, I know ablation is the only possible step if I go into AF again (all other avenues have been thoroughly explored and dismissed by two EPs). So I’d do it. I’d need a bucket load of sedatives for a while before the procedure but I trust the EP. What happened was a fluke. He was being super careful and he will always be super careful. We were just VERY unlucky.

I am sure all other medications and/or procedures have been explored leaving ablation to be your only option. The alternative for you seems to be an increasingly intolerable state of health which is having such a bad effect on your enjoyment of life. I’d say go for it. Get us much support from everyone that you can. Try not to have a long waiting time between being given the date and having it done. Try to stay positive. And know that everyone is with you.

Good luck x

[LizLancashire in reply to Spin-off]

Thank you Spin-off for your long and encouraging reply. It's so good to hear from someone else it happened to. My pre-op appointment is next week so I haven't long to wait. One of my concerns is that worrying about it will kick off another afib episode on the day.

[joglo]

I've had 4 ablations in total and had a tamponade on my second one. I understand how you feel and it's a difficult decision to make. There was an investigation after mine to look at why it happened and further testing showed my heart was weirdly rotated and so this was taken into account with the following 2 ablations. Good luck in whatever you choose to do!

[LizLancashire in reply to joglo]

Thank you Joglo. You've been brave to go for two more ablation after your tamponade. I've never been told why it happened to me but I'll certainly bring it up during my appointment next week. Thank you for your kind words.

[GordonS]

Hi, I had a tamponade when I had my 2nd ablation in 2018. I am now in persistent AF controlled by Amiodarone and awaiting another ablation. I have been on the list since December 2022. My EP says that the ablation will be different from the previous ones and that he will use 3d mapping with transthoracic echo. I hope that I will get this soon as I don't want to be on the Amiodarone too long although I must say that I feel as good as I ever have at the moment. Best of luck to you. Gordon

[LizLancashire in reply to GordonS]

Thank you Gordon.. We've been on the waiting list just about the same length of time so I'm sure you won't have much longer to wait.. it’s interesting what you say about feeling good. In between my afib episodes I feel the best I've felt for ages.

[DKBX]

You’ve received encouraging comments so far. I can only add that my luck has been somewhat better as I went through six ablations and probably a dozen cardioversions without a hitch … except I kept needing them!

Hopefully this next one for you will do the trick. (Same for me so I don’t need a seventh)

[LizLancashire in reply to DKBX]

Thank you DKBK. I can't imagine going through six ablations and I hope you don't need another one..

[cryptogram]

I went for a radio ablation in 2012 but before the ablation could be done the EP pierced the the other side of the left atrial. After seeing that the dye was escaping into the pericardium the ablation had to be abandoned. This was not the EP's fault. I have a mobile atrial aneurism. This means that my septum is very thick and elastic. When trying to go through the septum the septum stretched to almost the other side of the left atrial and the cutting implement went through suddenly and pierced the opposite wall. Sometimes EPs come across unexpected problems. 5 months later I went for an ablation again. This time the EP was aware of the problem and so could take special precautions. This was successful. I have had 3 more ablations since then. I hope that this helps.

[LizLancashire in reply to cryptogram]

That sounds so frightening. I'm amazed you've gone through 4 more ablation since then. I think I need to find out exactly what happened with my first one.

[cryptogram in reply to LizLancashire]

It would help to know what happened. Then your EP could hopefully reassure you. I went through the 4 ablations because I was desperate for help. They have made a big difference. Unfortunately AF tends to come back after a while. But it can last a few years for some people. Best Wishes.

[LizLancashire in reply to cryptogram]

Thank you. I'll certainly try and find out more during my pre-op appointment next week. It's good to hear the ablations made a big difference for you.

[Snowgirl65]

Yes, I had problems with my first ablation -- and first EP. I subsequently changed to a new EP who did my second ablation with no complications. However, a wayward connection formed later on around an ablated vein necessitating a third ablation. The 2nd and 3rd ablations were easy-peasy, with hardly any aftereffects.

[LizLancashire in reply to Snowgirl65]

Thank you . I'm amazed now at all the things that can go wrong. I hope I'm as lucky as you with the second one.