Posted by Carl Plaskett on November 10, 2003 at 07:16:29:
In Reply to: Lone A-Fib and a cure? posted by Steve Haluska on November 09, 2003 at 21:25:10:
I've got to agree with John, Dr. Lam's regimen is certainly worth trying IF you do not already have regular bouts of afib and have not already tried the drugs. Dr. Lam even says that "it may be too late for those who already have severe afib"(perhaps not the EXACT quote).
With the improvements in ablation techniques at the Cleveland Clinic, I might have considered that option had it been available three years ago. The prospect of the Cox Maze III is rather daunting, but the risks of complications are lower than those for PVAs/PVIs, EVEN at the CC.
There are far more successful surgeons doing the Maze than there are doctors doing PVAs, and having had the Maze and now enjoying a life WITHOUT all the dietary, (& expensive supplements), lifestyle, & physical activity restrictions (not to mention taking NO DRUGS), I wholeheartedly recommend getting "cured" rather than "restricted".
If you should be fortunate enough to be able to get to the CC for evaluation, they will tell you which procedure (Maze or ablation) will probably be best for YOU, as they have with other posters here and elsewhere. They are very experienced in handling insurance companies reluctance to believe that cures for afib exist.
If you can't get there, consult the list of surgeons at the top of this page for one close to you and post another question as to who has had experience with that surgeon, or use one of the "search" functions to find posts from other happy maze recipients who used the surgeon in question.
While you are using the "search" function, type in John Behle, and you will find some of his very first posts (some were lost under our old format, and the dates all SEEM to be the same-April 2001,which is when most old posts were moved to this site by John while he was recuperating). John's recovery from where he was pre-maze is not a lot different than mine, he is just 18 years younger than me, so he had much more life to live. We are both catching up with what we missed for years while we tried everything under the sun to eliminate afib. Had I known that I would only have a few days of pretty intense discomfort from the Maze, followed by NO afib, I sure would have done it years earlier.