Posted by Carl Plaskett on February 05, 2003 at 21:47:41:
In Reply to: On to the Cleveland Clinic posted by Jim Matthews on February 05, 2003 at 13:48:01:
Jim: If you have been through all or most of the meds over a 6 year period and perhaps even had a flutter ablation, you probably are a Maze candidate. I agree that you should be evaluated for both, and it appears as though the CC is pretty good about doing just that, as opposed to opting for the maze only. If you were a short-term afib sufferer, they would probably insist that you try meds and/or an ablation before the maze.
You might have to wait several months for Dr. Natale, but there are several other talented doctors at the CC, trained by Dr. Natale, who are doing the PVA/PVI procedure, and the wait may not be nearly as long.
The CC was using cryo ablation 2 years ago for part of the Cox Maze III, when mine was done. I believe their RF catheters are the latest and most successful and are being used more than cryo now. Check out the CC website for current releases/publications.