failed after 3rd ablation

 Hi Steven,

I too had a simular experience & almost lost my life!, i am feeling exactly the same ,very very depressed ,Please Read On.

Warning !!

To anyone with AF who is thinking of having ablation surgery

I have some very important info' for this group. I am an AF sufferer since 2008.in 2010 i had my first catheter ablation the new "Arctic front Ablation" [cryo/freezing method] it worked for around 18months but then the AF returned., i put up with it for a couple of years, but I was then recommended another ablation called Point to Point catheter ablation which is the usual or common ablation technique, which burns the problem areas. This was supposed to be "very Low risk minimal invasion Day surgery" with few complications & i was told nothing to worry about we can deal with the complications should any arise. So i went in for the surgery a few weeks ago. During the ablation the procedure the surgeon pierced a hole in the wall of my heart & he could not stop the bleeding, i was rushed to another theatre [unconcious] where another team had to open my chest, Put me on a bypass machine to enable them to repair the hole & stop the bleeding, i was in theartre a total of around 7 hours, i had to have a transfusion, i was then hept in a comma & put on a life suppoprt machine for 24 hours, following that i was in intensive care for a further 48 hours. several weeks on I am still recovering from this Nightmare.. Also whilst i was in hospital i spoke to another AF ablation patient who had suffered the same heart puncture during the ablation, but he was a bit luckier than me, they managed to stop his bleed without openenig his chest. I have had several different operations over the years & i have never had an issue with bleeding before...

i was not warned about this fatal risk beforehand by the consultant !!!

My advice to anyone with AF thinking of having an ablation,THINK VERY CAREFULLY, IT IS A DANGEROUS PROCEDURE!!  I almost lost my life

Best Wishes

Graham

Hi.

I have put a complaint in via PALS, it takes aprox' 25 days to get a reply, but i will take it much further if i have to. Patients are not given enough information regarding "Risk"..This complication is far more common than they make out, but i am guessing that if they told every patient the real risk that they would not have anyone to practice on.

who are the CCG you mention in your post ?

Cheers

graham

I agree about the arrogance of some surgeons/consultants. 

Any information would be very welcome, as anyone seen this "A Patient Guide to Electrophysiology Study and Catheter Ablation" it very informative, i have it on a PDF file so i cannot copy the link onto here, but you may find it on Google.

  

Hi Steven I am 50 and I can relate to everything you are talking about ! I am sorry to hear you have had so much hassle but please don't give up mate !

i have struggled with irregular heart beat for 7 years and it is a lot worse at night and I just don't get a heavy sleep anymore . I could not cope anymore with the doctor kept giving me pills that did not work if anything it made me feel worse .i was told about the ablation operation from a colleague so I was hopeful ! 

I had the operation a month ago which was successful until a couple of days ago when  it all has come back I am absolutely gutted .so I am not going to give up and hope to have another operation ! 

Good luck Steve and stay strong .

Hi Steven, 

i can completely relate. Im a 35 year old woman who had a mini stroke a year ago and was diagnosed with AF. 

Since then i have had 3 ablations for AF and then for flutter, 3 cardio versions, had a temp pace maker fitted through my neck as the beta blockers were making my heard have long pauses and i was passing out..... 

All that and im still not fixed and looking to another ablation.

I know this is scary, and hard and the feeling of impending doom can send you down the deep dark rabbit hole but please keep your head up and stay strong, you will get through this. 

Also, get a second opinion if you can or a consultation with another professor. I was supposed to have the best guy around on Harley Street but then had a run in with a cab driver who told me about another Professor in London Bridge so im going to see what he has to say. 

All the best and i wish you well, keep us up to speed with your progress!

Lynn x

I cannot understand why you’ve had  so many ablations in so short a time. There is a blanking period of 6 months after an ablation to see if it was successful.  Your heart hasn’t had a chance to recover from the first ablation.  I would suggest the possibility of your seeing another EP. this just doesn’t seem right. Oh yes, just to let u know I was on amiorodone for 10 months and monitored closely and although I know it can have some terribly negative side affects and a bad reputation , I had none. And it was the only med prior to my (second) ablation that kept my heart in Rythym.  What country are u in?  

Hi Steven ~

My husband is currently going through what you went through.  I can totally understand why you were feeling.  It is very discouraging.

He see's a highly regarded electrophysiologist in suburban Chicago.  He's also trying some unconventional things like Wild Thornberry which hasn't shown to be successful yet (been on it a few weeks).  Apparently it was well tested in Germany.  The Mayo Clinic website also inidcates that some people have had success with acupuncture.  He is going to try this next.  His doc has mentioned a pace maker but it doesn't sound like that does a great job either - just prevents the really bad rhythms from happening.

Just wondering how you are now three years later and if you had additional ablations or different treatments or medications.  Did or have you seen other doctors for additional opinions?

Kelly

Hi

I'm Nicola and suffered a.fib I have a pic operation which stopped it this was 3yearsago...I have always had extra heartbeats since.. but yest .. I got up from chair pain in chest up in shoulders clammy hot... and since my heart is playing up feels like it glitters when I move.. I hope it's not a fib again

You must follow what doc says... I was I host every week..please if you know your not right ring a ambulance..I did not think this would come back to anyone x

Hi Steven,

This is also my 3rd ablation with WPW. I can understand how you feel with this disease with the feeling of hopelessness. My children is the thing that motivated me to keep fighting this disease.

Chris,

At 46, my husband had several cardioversions that would get him in sinus for weeks and then down to only hours. Also also had 3 failed abblations. Started with afib and then developed flutter. After about 18 months he was referred to Loyola University medica. Shortly thereafter he went into heart failure and was hospitalized. The Maze procedure was discussed as well as an A,V (atrium/ventricle) node ablation. Cardiology team advised Maze was not predicted to be a high enough success due to repeated failed abblations. Since Maze requires open heart surgery, if it didnt work he would be a candidate for a Vad pump and/heart transplant. Since they did not want the possibility of 3 open heart surgeries, they reccomended the AV node abblation with a defibrliter pace maker. This procedure makes home completely pacemaker dependent. That surgery was a fairly easy recovery however he remained in flutter. He was put a low sodium diet and lost 30 pounds. His echo cardiogram numbers went from 15 to 35 in 6 weeks and was feeling much better. At about 8 weeks he had a cardioversion to see if they could get him in sinus rhythm. This time it worked and he has been in sinus for about a month. He continues to exercise and is trying to lose more weight. Has about 75 pounds more to lose.

My reccomendation for anyone with failed procedures for Afib/flutter is to get referred to a highly rated university medical center. That's where the best docs are.