And this is what can happen when you just go to a local Doctor for an ablation.....

I am "friends" on Facebook with a woman named Rose, who I know from my high school days. I believe she may have already had a stroke of some kind, as her writing is a bit disjointed and simple..but I'm not sure of that. She recently had an ablation at a local hospital (known for it's research, really), and has been writing about her breathing problems and more, ever since. She said she already had breathing problems, so maybe I'm overreacting....but it does seem like she's having a lot of problems to report since she's had this ablation.

I thank God I found this bulletin board and didn't end up in shoes like Rose's.....and hope that she finds and gets the care she needs. (I have offered to help with Doctor names, etc, but she says her "heart doctor is in all kinds of magazines.."he's good"), Maybe...but if she did have those problems before her ablation, that would be an even stronger reason to get a top doctor to be sure you aren't adding to your problems when it's all said and done, yes?
~ Barb

A post from Rose today:

JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL OF U FRIENDS WHO REALLY SEND UR GOOD WISHES TO ME DURING MY TIME OF SICKNESS, WENT TO HEART DR. TODAY HAVE TO GO TUES TO HAVE MY HEART JUMP START MY HEART TO PUT IT INTO RHYTHM LOL MY DIAPHRAM WILL NOT GET BETTER FOR ALMOST A YEAR HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE OTHER DR. SAYS, HAVE A COUGH JUST WON'T QUIT I CAN'T SLEEP SO FREAKING MISERABLE, I ONLY TELL U ALL DON'T USUALLY TELL PEOPLE ANYTHING BUT ALWAYS SMILE, LOST MY SMILE A WHILE, THANK YOU ALL BUT HAVE TO SAY UR KINDNESS MADE ME HAPPY , LUV TO YOU ALL, ROE



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2015 06:14PM by tobherd.

Amen to that Barb. I remember during my Bordeaux ablation they were near the end and trying to induce arrhythmia when they captured my diaphragm . the ol tummy was a jumpin. Dr. Hocini admonished her assistant and they moved the catheter and carried on. I'm guessing that if you can capture it you can damage it too so I am grateful that I am still NSR and no other surgery related issues.

Cheers

Adrian

Yes, Adrian - it was good that you had another doctor there who was able to prevent a real problem. It's not easy to try to convince others that they need to go to a top doctor when there are some doctors who are excellent at self promoting and even some hospitals that do an excellent PR job who may not always deserve that reputation....or at least, not in ALL areas. Afib ablations require a very definite skill and level of experience.


I just hope she recovers fully and as quickly as possible...and that more people find this Board.


~ Barb

My best friend from childhood has an ablation with Dr. Natale on Thursday. When he told me of his situation, I insisted he get an opinion from Natale. He lives about 3 hours away. In '07, my cousin, living in Florida, was told by a local EP to do an atrial flutter ablation and see if that "cured" his afib. I knew the odds of that working were about 5% and insisted he get a second opinion with Dr. Pinski at Cleveland Clinic Weston. Pinski (trained by Natale) said that the only path was to do both an afib and a flutter ablation at the same time. My cousin had Pinski do that and has been fine since. In numerous other situations I was not always able to get the message across, but I always try...

George

Yes George I heard about your friend getting his ablation from Dr. Natale this week. I'm sure you're happy he did listen to you! I will be seeing Dr. Natale and a number of other doctors in the electrophysiology field at a conference this weekend in my area. Any questions you would like me to relay?

It can be hard to convince people who are basically 'clueless" about Afib and the treatments, doctors, etc. that we have a pretty good idea of what we're talking about after being on this Board for 8+ years (for me, anyway)...some will listen, some won't, and of course, some will be lucky either way.

Just glad WE did find this Board or Lord knows where we'd be in the Afib journey right now.....


Barb

Barb, I couldn't tell from Rose's message what AF ablation device was used. I wish her well and that her phrenic nerves recover with time. Any idea? All the practice groups/hospitals I have ever used claim to participate in research via clinical trials. But that really doesn't say much about the experience and skill level of the clinicians. Well designed clinical trials try to include the whole distribution curve from the elites to the learners, while trying to narrow the characteristics of the patient cohort. For example, paroxysmal only or persistent only.

HI Researcher - I don't know the answer to your question....as far as I know, she just had a PVI ablation, but since she had Afib for quite a few years and seemed to have had a possible stroke, I would think she should have had a very experienced EP. I have never heard of any EP from StonyBrook University hospital mentioned when we talk about top NY EPs....and it IS a university hospital, so...

I have seen her posting a number of times on FB since I wrote this, so I am assuming she is doing better. Nonetheless, her experience is a reminder of the importance of seeking out a very experienced and skillful doctor for an Afib ablation.



BArb

Thanks Barb, Definitely a low volume center. There is a big difference between NYU and NYSU like there would be between UCLA and Cal State Northridge. Local would be OK if it is a high volume complex ablation center. It is really too bad that Rose didn't know how to go about researching centers. I am guessing that most AF patients are in the same boat and depend on the knowledge/biases of the doctor that referred them.