Maze - 4 months & A-Fib Free

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Posted by Mary E. Baril on June 03, 2002 at 22:21:43:

I had my maze procedure done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on 01-16-02 by Dr. Joseph Dearani, who in my opinion is a brilliant surgeon. I also did not want to have this a-fib rule my life, as I had too many things I wanted to do and couldn't do them for a while, as I was in and out of a-fib constantly. I was lucky enough to have a family friend as a doctor and he helped me to decide on which procedure to have done. He even called my cardiologist at Mayo's and spoke with them regarding all of my tests, etc. that were completed there, and he concurred that if I wanted to get rid of this condition, the Maze procedure was the way to go. I was basically very healthy otherwise - didn't drink, smoke, and tried to take care of myself. If I had waited and decided to have it done say 10 years from now, I may not have recuperated as quickly as I did at this age, which is 52. I returned to work after six weeks of the surgery, and I am feeling just wonderful. Life is good now that I am not landing in the hospital every week or so, and sometimes every few days. I had to cancel a trip to Europe to see our daughter because I didn't want to land in a hospital there and not have them know what to do with me. My own hospital here did not know what to do with me. I had to keep a diary to show the doctors what each previous doctor had done for me every time I landed in the ER. I don't regret one bit having the surgery. I feel better now than I have in about 10 years. I did a lot of research on all the other "less invasive" procedures, and found that some of them were more dangerous to me than having the maze surgery. I also didn't want to end up with a pacemaker, as that was not getting rid of the problem and still would have had to be on Coumadin along with it. The maze procedure to me is the way to go if you can withstand the surgery, and if you have good medical insurance, as it is a very expensive operation. After reading the Maze message board, I am astounded that some people have been suffering for 20+ years with this, having many different procedures, and still not have been "cured" of the condition. I guess maybe I am too impatient to want to get on with my life to want to wait that long for something to be done that would take care of it. Sometimes we just have to take our own health issues in our hands and push the doctors to what we think should be done. I have great respect for physicians but, face it, they have so many patients nowadays, how can they take the time to concentrate on just "one of us" - We have to know what is going on with our bodies and give some input as to what should be done. I am glad I requested to be sent to Mayo's, because my local doctor I don't think knew what to do with me anymore. That's what gets very scary. That's what specialists are there for. I trusted my life to Dr. Dearani, and to him I will be forever grateful.
Didn't mean to get so long-winded. Words just kind of flew out as I went along. Take care all of you who are thinking of this procedure. Do lots of research and get second opinions if you can. Peace of mind knowing you are doing the right thing for you is also a wonderful thing.

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