Posted by Carl Plaskett on January 28, 2004 at 07:09:38:
In Reply to: Maze vs Ablation...Q&A web site: posted by Sarah on January 28, 2004 at 02:49:26:
I believe that many of us have had EPs or cardiologists suggest that a "rate problem" is triggering our afib, and have undergone ablation attempts to interupt those "triggers". I don't believe any of us had any long term success from those ablations, which were almost always in the right atrium. Some of us, myself included, did receive some upper limits rate control after such ablations, but afib came back as strong or stronger for most of us.
PVAs are not the same as simple "right-sided" rate ablations, and are not something one wants done by just any doctor in just any facility, as Pete's horror story illustrates.
I would not rely upon most doctors to give an unbiased opinion on which procedure(Maze or PVA) is appropriate. From numerous reports here, the doctors doing these procedures at the CC are not "territorial" and DO determine which might offer the easiest permanent cure. Several posters have gone there expecting to have the Maze and have had PVAs instead, after evaluation. The doctors are amazingly accurate in their determinations, based upon the reports posted here and elsewhere.
- Re: Maze vs Ablation...Q&A web site: Glenn Camp 14:01:45 1/28/2004 (0)