Posted by Ed Wehan on April 27, 2001 at 18:56:14:
After enduring atrial fibrillation for about 14 years, I scheduled my maze procedure for the Cleveland Clinic for the 11th or 12th of January. I arrived in Cleveland the weekend prior and had tests scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of that week. Fortunately for me, they moved up my surgery to Wednesday afternoon. My experience with the maze is a very favorable one in that I recovered very quickly and did not have to endure a breathing tube upon awakening.
My surgeron, Dr. McCarthy, now uses a 3 to 4 inch chest incision rather than a total break of the sternun. He also differs from Dr. Cox who approaches from the side. I'm not sure that either of these approaches affects the success of the surgery only that both probably make recovery a little easier.
I was quickly moved to a regular hospital room and then out of the hospital after four days. I returned home after six days.
As many contributors to this exchange have indicated, this is a major surgery no matter how easy it may appear (after). I had many fears going into it but I had made copies of almost all of the other postings that each of you had provided and then read and reread them for comfort. May future readers of this use my thoughts in the same way because in retrospect, I made the right decision and I am on the right track.
Upon returning home, I have had periodic bouts of arrythmia and just returned from a two night stay in our local hospital to start up on Rhythmol. One thing that I think that many people who are considering this surgery should know is that there is a good probability that you will return to AFib for a period of time prior to the surgical incisions preventing the arrythymia from occuring. However, for me, the Rhythmol had adverse effects and I now will probably have to go on amiodarone, a drug I actually have had pretty good luck with.
Jack Drum has brought up many good points on deciding where to have a maze procedure done. I chose Cleveland because they do so many and because Dr. McCarthy is a very experienced surgeon who uses pretty advanced techniques. I wanted the best odds for success and Cleveland offered that. However, in retrospect, I do agree with Jack. Cleveland is big; very, very big and not that personal. There has been much success at other institutions and if I had to do it over, I might look at Sequoia or LDS (since I live on the West Coast). There are arguments on both sides but the bottom line is you have to be comfortable.
I'm looking forward to running soon. I just sent in my deposit for a running trip around the Torres del Paine in Patagonia for late November. I chose to have the maze done for the quality of my life. I like to be outdoors and exploring and the maze procedure offered me the only option to spend the last 20 years of my life continuing this kind of activity.
Finally, I will reiterate the thanks that I have to all of you who have posted your maze results. I read and reread them many times and I found that your experiences paralleled mine very closedly. Your direction gave me comfort and support and made this experience a much more positive one.
I can't say enough about Jack Drum. He started this and continues to support it. He was in my mind when I was on the table and thankfully, still there when I woke up.
My best to all.