Posted by Mike on October 08, 2002 at 23:21:01:
In Reply to: Open Question: WHY? posted by Dan on October 08, 2002 at 22:31:56:
Dan, in my case, I am very symptomatic and have about three 24-hour afib episodes per week of lone paroxysymal afib. I have not tried anti-arrhythmia drugs (don't want to). I was told by the Cleveland Clinic (CC) that it was too early for me to be considered for Maze. I was told to try drugs first to see if they would work for me and if not come back in 6 months or a year; or perhaps wait until I was in chronic afib before requesting a Maze.
I believe they are very willing to do a Maze on you given it will work for you AND you have other heart problems that also need fixing with open heart surgery, e.g. mitral valve repair. They also will do Mazes for people who have failed drug therapy or who have had ablations that did not work. Being symptomatic and complaining about a reduced quality of life are other keys to being considered for a Maze.
I was willing to request the Maze as my first step despite the major nature of it because of its high success rate. Also, my quality of life was being seriously impacted.
Now, I have decided to go with pulmonary vein ablation with Dr Natale at CC on November 25th instead of waiting for the Maze. Dr Natale is getting 80% cures on the first try and 95% overall if he does a second one when required. I didn't realize he was doing so well until I visited CC to consult about the Maze. I had previously thought ablation only had a 50% cure rate with lots of risks.
The longer you wait, the better the procedures will be for either the Maze or ablation. If they can make the Maze less invasive in the future with fewer risks, then the threshold for qualifying for it will be lowered.
I hope this info helps you. M.