Posted by Carl Plaskett on December 22, 2002 at 09:34:44:
In Reply to: Clevland Clinic posted by Jim Matthews on December 21, 2002 at 23:09:15:
Jim: If you have read many of the posts, you will find a common thread among those who have gone to the CC in the last year, which is: You contact them and they will have you/your doctor send recent echo, ekg, and history, then they will evaluate you when you visit to determine whether or not the maze should be your first option. A number of folks this year have thought they would get the maze, but have been cured with a PVI/PVA ablation by Dr. Natale or one of his equally talented associates.
You can go to the CC website: www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter then use the "search" function by searching for "atrial fibrillation". You will find info on getting an appointment, as well as up-to-date info on the marvelous things they are doing there.
If you do end up being a maze candidate, ask to have Dr.Donald Hammer as your attending cardiologist. He is just outstanding and has spent lots of time with many of us posting here!