Ablation

[metallicalover]

Not posted on here for a while as recovery going better than I had previously worried about.

Now just after 6 months since triple CABG I have had a routine ECG and they have discovered that I have atrial flutter and want me to have an ablation to cure it. In the meantime I have to take Apixaban instead of Clopidogrel and Aspirin to reduce the risk of stroke.

I would like to know if anyone else has had to have this procedure after open heart surgery and whilst I will be ok with them going down the catheter route as they did when I had stents several years ago I don't want to be opened up again as I don't think I will cope with this.

Can anyone give me advice/info from their experiences please?

[AmandaLouise77]

Ablation is usually done through a groin access catheter

[PadThaiNoodles]

I met a guy in hospital who was having this done. It was explained to him that sometimes some of the scar tissue from the surgery will produce a secondary electrical pathway, so they need to erode some of the scar tissue away. You might ask if yours is a similar issue.

But, yeah, I think it's always done via catheter.

[Friendliarthur in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

I’m not sure the guy you were talking to understood his doctor. The whole purpose of ablation is to create scar tissue, which blocks electrical flow. I’d be very keen to hear more info from anyone about this and to be corrected.

Cheers

[PadThaiNoodles in reply to Friendliarthur]

Interesting. Now I'm dead curious to know what the real story was....

[PadThaiNoodles in reply to PadThaiNoodles]

For any of you other geeks out there, I found this: academic.oup.com/europace/a.... (The introduction suggests that the ablation forms new scar tissue along the path between the surgical scar tissue and the nearest anatomical barrier.)

[Jalia]

This is not open heart surgery but accessed through the groin with catheter. No big deal. They are performed very frequently these days. I've recently had my 5th (!) and about to have my 80th birthday.

[Lexi72]

hi mettalicalover, my understanding is that most ablations are done via a catheter through the groin usually awake with some happy drugs. I had mine before my forthcoming heart surgery (not after) to try and fix a high level of ectopic beats and felt safe and secure. It was done using a catheter via groin with mild sedation and some pain killers when they zapped my heart. They kept an eye on me for a few hours after the operation then let me go home. Spent a couple of days in bed and was then fine. No complications in my case

[JackRusselllsrule]

Hello. I recently had an Ablation and was under general anaesthetic for six hours. Was only partially successful but the actual experience of the operation was ok, but recovery took a while in terms of mesh/dressings settling etc. In short, please don’t worry, sure all will be fine. Good luck,

[Friendliarthur in reply to JackRusselllsrule]

Ditto for me.

For some patients a first ablation routinely targets the entry points of the 4 pulmonary veins into the left atrium, and this works fine.

Often if a second ablation is needed (and maybe for some in the first ablation) time is spent mapping/testing throughout the atrium to find further points of origin which also cause fibrillation. That process can add lots of time to the overall process.

Cheers.

[Asteroids]

I had a mistake ram valve repair almost 6 years ago, followed by atrial flutter. They tried amiodarone for a couple of months with no effect, so far a catheter ablation about 2 months after the valve repair. Some people find an ablation painful, but it was just uncomfortable for me. It’s just a catheter inserted up an artery - typically from the groin area.

The actual experience was fascinating, since you feel each “cut” as it happens, but it’s substantially non-invasive and if it works you bounce back in a few days. I’ve had sinus rhythm ever since.

Go for it!