Posted by Pete Reed on April 18, 2004 at 19:53:03:
In Reply to: U of Pa Ablation Experiences needed posted by Walt on April 18, 2004 at 15:48:33:
Walt,
I just had an ablation at Penn's Presbyterian Division on 4/9 with Dr. David Callans. Dr. Callans has performed 300 or so ablations, and I feel, is on the cutting edge in his field. My care at Presby was excellent. I do not yet have a copy of the operative report, but I should have it within a week. I have been Afib free since the ablation. I can now sleep on my left side. Naps, which were an everyday requirement prior to the ablation(often multiple naps per day, some for hours), has become a non-issue. I was up yesterday at 6:50 AM, attended a seminar, and stayed up until 2:00 AM this morning. I haven't been able to do this for over a year. I was admitted to Presby on 4/8, had the procedure on the 9th, and would have gone home on the 10th had I not spiked a fever, either from sinuses or a UTI(from the Foley Catheter). I went home on Easter Sunday, but the fever, although lowgrade was with me until yesterday. I am still on antibiotics. I must note that I do not associate my fever with the procedure. I am prone to get UTI's due to an slightly enlarged prostate. Also, I was nearly killed by a doctor last February while performing a PVI at Hahnemann. I went into cardiac arrest for several minutes, only to be saved by a great surgeon. As a result of that procedure, my right diaphragm was paralyzed, so every sinus infection I've had since evolves into asthma.
I saw Dr. Callans originally on 10/13/03, and I would have be scheduled as soon as this past January. However, my wife wanted the timing to be around Easter vacation, and we were accomodated. To my knowledge, Dr. Callans has had a patient wind up with a mild stroke, but they know why it happened. They used to reverse the heperin required by the procedure, but now the let the heperin levels subside naturally to reduce the risk of clotting. I was on IV Heperin until dischaged. You will probably be able to switch to Dr. Callans and get done much sooner. I was told that I could have either Dr. Callans or Dr. Marchlinski after my consult, but in either case, it would be quicker to get in with Dr. Callans. If you want to discuss futher, email me. I'll give you my phone number or you can give me yours for more details. I hope this helps.
Pete