Posted by Kati on December 01, 2002 at 13:42:31:
In Reply to: Re: Pulmonary vein stenosis and cat scans posted by Angie Strand on November 30, 2002 at 15:57:59:
Thanks Angie for the info. The PVA procedure was done at Virginia Mason by Dr. Belz working with Dr. Fellows. I had two previous ablation procedures in 1998 at University of Washington done by Dr Bardi who probably is the grouchiest narrow minded doctor I ever delt with... On the other hand, I do like Dr. Belz. He seems concerned and appeared to give a lot of honest and clear information. But now I wonder why I didn't have a cat scan before the procedure to check for pulmonary vein stenosis since the type of procedure I had in 98 is now known to cause a very high percentage of stenosis and I was having unexplained fatigue and pain and my exercise resistance has been steadily dwindling for more than a year. I was under the illusion that the TE echocardiogram would show this and the procedure would be cancelled if there was previous stenosis. I only found out a few minutes before the procedure that the TEE I just had couldn't show this but I was told it would be apparent during the procedure. But now it turns out that it wasn't clear why the right pulmonary veins were obstructed. What I understand from your post and that of Mike is that a cat scan should have been ordered routinely... I do wish I could have gone to the CC for the procedure...
Angie, I have been reading your posts and I admire your courage in fighting for your health. Best wishes, Kati