Re: Post PVI at the C.C.

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Posted by Bill Kilgore on May 15, 2004 at 18:15:04:

In Reply to: Post PVI at the C.C. posted by Chris Muscato on May 13, 2004 at 01:59:14:

Chris,

Since you just had your procedure, the lack of wind could be due to something other than pulmonary vein stenosis. I recall that stenosis is seen from around 3 to 6 months after the procedure. Stenosis is not something one can diagnose for oneself. When I first became interested in the cure we know as pulmonary vein isolation via radio frequency ablation I heard some numbers regarding the complication rate for stenosis. For my first ablation attempt I went to Dr. Jai Cheng in Houston. He said that he has had no patients with stenosis. I had my successful ablation at the CCF and they quoted a rate of 2% stenosis. Dr. John Seger in Houston, my electrophysiologist, has been performing ablations for around a year and has had no patients develop severe stenosis. I have come to understand -- or at least think I understand -- that these complication rates are quoted for severe stenosis that requires treatment. There is a whole range of stenosis (0% - 100%) and four pulmonary veins. So, I no longer think that zero means zero. When Dr. Cheng says that none of his patients had a stenosis complication, he means that none had a clinically demonstrated severe problem that required treatment, I think. Likewise, at CCF the 2% quoted complication rate does not mean that the other 98% have no stenosis at all. They mean that as many as 2% have a serious problem requiring treatment. I hope this helps and that you are among the 98%.

Bill Kilgore

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