Has anyone had ablation at Guys Hospital in London, any comments welcome. Thanks.

[rupert12]

[Dodie117]

Hi. I have no answer - sorry. However I would also like to know so anyone had theirs done at Guys/St Thomas'?? Marie

[rupert12]

It seems as if we get a lot of information from the USA on this site, but not much information from the UK. Are you due to go into Guys/St Thomas' Marie? I am getting more attacks and quite severe which needs hospitalisation. I am really scared about having ablation, so it would be good to hear from someone who has had it done in the UK. Wendy

[SRMGrandma Volunteer]

I don't live in the UK but I Googled Guy's/St. Thomas and it looks like there are A.F specialists there, so I would call those offices and try to learn how many ablations are done there every year and get some info on their statistics. Good luck!

[rupert12]

Thanks SRMGrandma my cardiologist said that is where I would have to go, I live on the south coast so it is quite a long way to go, as long as it does the trick I don't care how far I go! It is catheter ablation which I am being offered and have not heard too much about that on this forum. Hope you are keeping well. Wendy.

[Hidden in reply to rupert12]

Hello Wendy

I see you live on the South coast , same as me , ( Worthing ). In fact you don't HAVE to go to any hospital you don't wish to , you do have a choice . I went up to London for my 1st ablation at The Heart Hospital ( UCLH ) & my treatment there was 1st class & very speedy . I have afriend who was treated with AF & alot else at Guy's& spoke very highly of it. I had my 2nd ablation at the Sussex Cardiac Centre in Brighton ( RSCH ) with the same EP from London & am due to have my 3rd one there on Monday . Has Brighton been mentioned to you ?

Sandra

[Dodie117]

Hi Wendy. I have had one meeting with cardiologist in St Thomas' and due in may for 2nd. Guys and St Thomas, is one entity but separate buildings. I meet cardiologist in St Thomas' but have warfarin testing in guys. I think they use same cardiologists in both. The one I met is Dr O'Neill who is an ep. I am newly diagnosed but have decided I would prefer ablation to meds so going back to see him to see if he will agree. My gp supports this decision. I am 64. You should be in safe hands as it is a large teaching hospital with lots of qualified staff and plenty experience. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who actually had ablation done there. Marine

[rupert12]

Hi Marine, thanks for your reply, interesting reading. I am 60 and was only diagnosed last August, but had lots of symptoms prior to then, which was put down to stress! Like you I would prefer not to take the medication, but have no choice at the moment. I believe that Guys and St Thomas' are a centre of excellence, which is why I will need to travel so far, at least they have done ablation many times, rather than going to a local hospital that have only done it a few times. Please keep us posted how you get on. Wendy

[rupert12]

Hi Sandra

Sorry for the late reply, but again I have been in hospital overnight, this time I was more assertive and asked to see a cardiologist, last week I was sent home after an attack and told to visit my GP if I had a problem. Hopefully by increasing the medication this time, I can go more that 7 days without an attack!!

Thanks for the hospital info, I live near Whistable in Kent, so I would thinks Guys would be easier to get there, approx 1.5hrs by train. After the last few weeks I realise that I need to have ablation, any chance of curing this AF, I must take. I have heard really positive feedback from Guys and Brighton now, so thank you for taking time to write. I have an appointment next month with my cardiologist to look at all my options, so will take a list of questions I would like to ask.

I am off on a walking holiday next week, but my cardiologist said don't venture too far off the beaten track - just in case!!

Wendy