I have paroxysmal aFib and have recently gotten a pacemaker. I believe am considering ablation. I live in Broward County, Florida and was wondering if anyone has any experience and/or recommendations regarding two electophysiologists: David Kenigsberg and Ahmed Osman. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Hi Gator,

It looks like both those EPs are with the same practice. Are you limited by your insurance to using that practice?

No I can go anywhere. What are your thoughts?

The first thing you need to know about ablations is that the experience of the operator is everything. Sure, lofty titles, fancy schools, and other credentials are nice, but they don't help you find your way around the left atrium. They don't help you deliver energy in just the right amount, for the right amount of time, and with just the right amount of contact force. They don't help you map the sources of afib in your heart. Where an EP learns those things is in the lab doing ablations. Preferably, thousands of ablations.

With that in mind, if I was considering an ablation I would choose Dr. Andrea Natale in Austin, TX. He would absolutely be the only EP I would even consider until he retires. He is arguably the top EP in the world. As for experience, when he stopped counting a few years ago, he had done over 11,000 ablations. He and the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute where he works accept many out-of-town patients and they have their system for handling that down pat. You would start with a telehealth review with him after he has your existing records, and if you both choose to proceed, you schedule it. You'll be in Austin for about 3 days because they recommend staying in town for 2 days after the procedure.

Oh, and he also does PFA now, which I didn't see mentioned in the bios of either of those EPs you named. He's been using PFA since it was in clinical trials. You definitely want an EP who uses PFA.

That is very helpful. Someone else recommended him to me as well. I was hesitant to go out of state, but you eased my mind about the process.

I second everything Carey says.

A lot of us here have traveled to have an ablation with Natale. Everything was very smooth and St. David’s hospital and the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute are great—wonderful care. My ablation was complex but Natale got me back into rhythm. Very glad I traveled to him. They have also arranged discounts at several Austin hotels.

I tried calling to see if I could make an appointment. I left a voicemail this morning; as of yet, no response.

Call the main number again and ask for Norma. She's Natale's scheduling person.

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gator4jc
I tried calling to see if I could make an appointment. I left a voicemail this morning; as of yet, no response.

I sent you a PM with Norma's contact info.