My Bordeaux Ablation Part One - Preparation

There have been good posts of the Ablation itself but not much on the preparation beforehand which can be quite complicated.

My ablation onvolved flying from Dublin which means only one flight per day – by Aer Lingus. From Britain there will probably be a lot more choice.

I wasn't referred by a Cardiologist; I did everything by myself with a little help from my G.P.

Step one was to contact Hopital Haut Leveque Bordeaux. You could of course phone but I like to get everything in writing. They will send you an information leaflet and a questionaire to fill in. You will complete this and return with a 12 lead ECG which a GP will do for you.

Be aware that while the information leaflet is very informative on what's done during the operation, success rates, possible complications etc some of the information is out of date. I spoke to Dr Hocini about this and she said it would be amended. It says to stop antiarrhythmics 5 dates before the op; that is now 48 hours. Fortunately I stayed in NSR right up to being wheeled into the theatre – which was perfect.
It also says get a TOE a few days before the op while the more up to date Check List you will be sent says 1-3 weeks. Personally I think as near to the op as possible would be best.

The difference that caused me frustration, not to mention time and money is that it says you can have an outpatient evaluation the following Monday. This seemed a sensible option so I booked accommodation accordingly up until the following Tuesday only to find this doesn't happen. Someone there told me the evalution would be on the Friday after the op and when I saw Dr Hocini on the Thursday for a brief chat and mentioned this she said that wasn't the case either and I should consider that chat the final evaluation.

Next you will receive an email saying you are a good candidate for ablation (hopefully!) and given 2 or 3 dates to chose from. That's when you have to start juggling. Select a date you want. Check that a flight is available at that time. Check when you can have the TOE done. Check when you can have a series of blood tests a few day before the op. Check what accommodation is available at that time. (If money is no object you have a wide range of hotels to choose from. For me I wanted something reasonably priced and as close to the Hospital as possible. I chose the Hotel Campanile for the night before the op and the All Suites Appart afterward. It has a restaurant almost attached but I really liked the fact it is really self catering with cooking facilities, fridge etc. and is quiet.)

Now quickly confirm with Bordeaux the date you have chosen (these can be filled very quickly so don't hang around.) Confirm your flight, TOE, blood tests & accommodation.

I think I've covered all the initial preparation and will return with what happened in Bordeaux.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2018 02:33PM by Sam.

Thanks for all that Sam - some useful stuff in there.

Interesting that Mme Hocini told you about stopping AADs 48hrs prior since Prof Jais told me (via email) 5 days. I seem to recall Carey discussed the half life of Flecainide meaning that 5 days was indeed required to get the Flecainide totally out of one's system.

But dude, you're killing me with all of this waiting..... come on and spill 'what happened in Bordeaux'!!

Best,

Mike

Quote
Sam
Step one was to contact Bordeaux via stephanie.xxx@xxx.fr.

Sam, you might want to do Stephanie a favor and edit your post. Remove her address and tell people to PM you for her email address. Spam harvesters collect email addresses posted on forums and once they find it, you'll be buried in spam forevermore.

The 48 hours thing for flecainide is interesting. I guess they must have decided that 48 hours is sufficient but I've been through this multiple times with multiple EPs, including Natale, and they always wanted all antiarrhythmics stopped 5 half-lives before the procedure.

Thanks, Carey, have done as you suggested.