Posted by Henry Alken on March 15, 2003 at 09:12:55:
In Reply to: ablation posted by sheldon blackman on March 14, 2003 at 10:28:22:
Sheldon,
I had an ablation with Dr M's group at U.Pa in 2001.A complete waste of time!
After 6 years of Afib the Afib gradually turned into Aflutter. Because none of the 6 cardiologists that I went to during this period ever offered the Maze as a solution, (they even disparaged it as "experimental"), I went to U.Pa & talked to Dr M. He told me he could cure the Aflutter but it would probably be replaced with Afib again. This is exactly what happened.
Meanwhile, I had been lucky enough to discover this Message Board. I read every message on it (I recommend you do this too - it is worth the effort). It became clear to me that the Maze at the Cleveland Clinic is the answer to Afib. It is safe and predictable with a high (98%) success rate. Dr McCarthy is an incredibly superb surgeon with over 300 Maze surgeries, no strokes, no deaths. I found the surgery to be relatively painless. In fact I took no analgesics during the day - they were unnecessary.
I am not a fan of the ablation procedure for Afib. It is like trying to repair a Swiss watch with a blindfold on.
I had the Maze in October, 2001. Eight months later I had a Aflutter "touch up" ablation at CC. This completed the cure for Afib. I am off all meds & have a solid heartbeat.
The "touch up" ablation was done in the right atrium to correct for electrical circuits that are occasionlly created by the Maze surgery. It was not done in the left atrium where the Afib procedures take place. The left atrium is a much more dangerous place to work.
Reading this board will give you the education you need to make an informed decision.
Good luck and good health!
Henry