Finding a good EP

Thank you for for this forum! It has been a source of excellent information about AFib. I mentioned in a previous post of having a solid history of AFib in my family, and two of my brothers have had a total of 9 ablations between them ( over about 15 years) at great medical centers- Duke, Stanford, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. It has been said over and over here to find the best EP, it makes all the difference. I’m ready for an ablation, I’m tired of the meds and the stress. Several here in South Florida have excellent credentials and come recommended. I’ve met with both. I filled out an online application for Dr Natale but have not heard back. So how do I choose one? What’s the criteria. I’m starting to think some of it is luck.

If you don't go to Natale and are in S Florida, I'd suggest Dr. Sergio Pinski at CC Weston. He trained with Natale years ago at CC. I referred my cousin and his wife to Pinski around 2009 and they loved him and had successful ablations with him.

You also might try calling Dr. Natale's office. I'm sure someone here can give you the run down on connecting with Natale.

I sympathize with your brothers. I've had 6 ablations, all of them by highly credentialed EPs at top medical centers. The first 5 were failures and the last was a resounding success. That was with Natale, as you might have guessed.

Choosing is hard because what matters most isn't generally made public by EPs, and that's the number of ablations they've done and their overall success rate. All you can do is what you're doing now -- come here and ask how to get started. Then once you've got the field narrowed down, make an appointment and simply ask them. They may not have exact numbers, but they should be able to give you reasonable estimates.

How long ago did you fill out the online form for Natale? I don't know how responsive they are to online requests, but when I contacted them in 2017 it did take about a week before they got back to me. I would call them if you don't hear back within a week.

Also, I agree with George that if you don't want to travel, Pinski would be a good choice. But as many here have discovered, traveling to Austin isn't as difficult as you might think. They handle many patients from out of town (and out of the country), so they have the system down pat.

Still have no heard from Natalie’s office, it’s been almost a week… but my EP does not think much of his work although many have been helped. And although I am a Cleveland Clinic patient, Pinsky’s reviews seemingly went south in the past few years and a few scary ones recently in the past few years. I think it’s not just luck but an educated decision, a Dr who has experience and you trust. I’m going for it with an EP who’s been doing them for 25 years, in an excellent hospital. I want my life back,🤞.

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LoisA
but my EP does not think much of his work

Frankly, I would consider that a red flag for your EP. You do what you think is right for you, but when a doctor tells you he doesn't think much of the work of one of the world's most experienced, respected, highly published EPs, you really have to wonder why.

As for Pinsky, I don't know what reviews you're talking about, but if you're talking about doctor rating sites I wouldn't pay any attention to them at all. They're nothing more than popularity contests.

Popularity contests, but also sites for flinging excrement on physicians who haven't managed to get it right in every case.

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LoisA
Still have no heard from Natalie’s office, it’s been almost a week…

If you call, you will get immediate attention. You want to speak with the person who deals with one trip ablations, meaning that that your consultation and ablation happen in just one trip rather than two. Her name is Norma: 512-615-6205

I think we have to accept that there are many excellent EP’s out there doing great work to help us. Natale is one of them. The Dr. I’ve been talking to knows him and has seen some of his patients. Nonetheless,I don’t have a problem traveling to Austin,.
If you can’t pay attention to reviews online, then how do you choose? you can only go by others recommendations. My brothers went to the “best” hospitals nine times without long term results, maybe they should try Natale next. This forum has been great in disseminating information and since we are all different cases we have to listen to all the information and make decisions that work best for us.

Understood. There are many who leave great reviews and some that are unhappy. In reviewing services and products online, I’ve done both. Take it as you will.

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LoisA
I think we have to accept that there are many excellent EP’s out there doing great work to help us. Natale is one of them. The Dr. I’ve been talking to knows him and has seen some of his patients. Nonetheless,I don’t have a problem traveling to Austin,.

Depending on the seriousness of the case, my understanding is that many fellowships do not train the advanced techniques that are required to solve serious cases. I've been a member of this board for 18 years. I've been able to manage my own case without requiring an ablation, yet. I've followed Dr. Natale since I joined here in 2004. His work has been outstanding the entire time. I've suggested many go to him and all of those who I've sent have been very pleased with him and his team.

This case was one of the most dramatic as three local EPs from the University had diagnosed the patient with vfib and had him in a shocker vest. Said he'd need an ICD. Natale fixed him and also said the vfib was a misdiagnosis. This was 5 years ago. The guy contacted me during COVID and said he was still doing very well & thanked me again.

My opinion is that online doc reviews are not in the same category as reviews on an Amazon product. I don't go by them.