Getting an ablation in Bordeaux - question on communicating with French doctors

To all,

The last post on the cost of ablation in the U.S. brings up this question for those who might need an ablation but have no health insurance. For them, Bordeaux would be an obvious choice, even given the additional travel costs, it would still be way cheaper to get it done there rather than here.

So this brings up a question: If you're getting it done, is it easy to communicate with the doctors, not knowing French? Do they speak English well?

When getting such a major procedure it would be important to be able to communicate with your doctors, and presumably most of us don't know French.

Just a thought.

Diane

Diane,

No problem at all. Pr. Haissaguerre, Pr. Jais and Dr. Hocini are all fluent in English. Some of the nurses may be less so, but I have never heard of that creating a problem. You can contact Laurence Bayle (a woman) in Bordeaux for further information and to book an appointment [email protected]

You may also be interested in reading these 3 reports from former afibbers who had ablations in Bordeaux.

My Afib Journey by Hans Larsen [www.afibbers.org]
My Bordeaux Experience by Alistair Thomson [www.afibbers.org]
How Suffering and Curing Atrial Fibrillation Changed My Life [www.afibbers.org]

Hans



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2012 01:10PM by Hans Larsen.

Hi Diane,

Yes, Drs. Haissaguerre, Jais, Hocini and Haissaguerre's secretary, who I interacted with during my initial evaluation with Haissaguerre, speaks English very well and are very personable and caring people, and no doubt any nurse assigned to you will as well, though that is not always true at all of everyone else in the hospital and in Bordeaux itself. Many people, including most cab drivers I discovered, dont speak much, if any, English at all in Bordeaux..

That was one of my concerns as well, being able to communicate well with all those who might be involved in my care when, and if, I really needed to, but rest assured they are every professional there and there is little doubt they would leave you without people who could communicate between you and your doctor(s) properly.

It is true that if you have no medical insurance in the US and would have to pay full 'retail' here for an ablation, then choosing Bordeaux would, for sure, be my first choice for quality and expertise as well as making it a lot less expensive out of pocket.

For those that do have a good US insurance plan, then Dr. Natale is first choice hands down! Then you will get absolutely equal top-tier quality expertise combined with far less out of pocket cash than having to pay full retail in Euros at Bordeaux. This is what I chose after meeting with Dr, Natale in San Fran a month after my Bordeaux evaluation with Haissaguerre in early 2008. I was equally impressed and comfortable with both men and it came mostly down to the huge saving for me as I have US insurance and I liked at the time that Dr. N also uses ICE imaging in addition to fluoroscopy during the ablation. Although, Dr. Natale also told me that in the hands of a highly-skilled EP like Haissaguerre they can get excellent results with only fluoroscopy and that for the top level EP's the ICE was mostly an additional time saver and added a second level of confirmation for what they are seeing.

Keep in mind that there is always the side benefit of taking time before and after the ablation to enjoy the beautiful south-western French countryside and gorgeous cities and villages around the area, but of course, you can do that as well without having to throw in an ablation as an excuse.

Cheers
Shannon

Hi Shannon,
I'm seeing Dr Chintiz at NYU Thursday and Dr Reddy Mt Sinai on Halloween.
What mapping systems are critical that they have and is ICE imaging the way to confirm placement of the burns?
I saw a video where Dr Reddy was demonstrating laser ablation in Czech Republic using ICE imaging to get a more precise view in hard to see areas.
Just click on the upper left hand image of the Dr Reddy to see the video....interesting with ICE views.

[www.cardiofocus.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2012 12:48PM by McHale.

Communication was not a problem, with doctors or nurses. That was my experience 4 years ago.