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← Return to One Year after my Watchman
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Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Apr 11 6:47pm | Replies (3)
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I am currently waiting for a date for PFA and during discussion with my electrophysiologist, the inserting of a Watchman was one of the things we discussed, and he said that he is not fully convinced on the device because of issues like leakage and the potential for some clotting around and on the Watchman. His comment is that if I am tolerating the Eliquis then just stay with that and don't have the Watchman installed. One less thing to fail.
Replies to "I am currently waiting for a date for PFA and during discussion with my electrophysiologist, the..."
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I can understand his reservations. The success rate for an index ablation across the entire electrophysiologist world is a sorry 75%. But the very best EPs can claim rates higher than 85%, and their experience and skills make their Watchman insertions just as successful...or better. So, yes, we can all read that the Watchman doesn't work for everyone, but neither do ablations. In most cases, the experience of the surgeon is what makes the difference. If you would like to consult the top EPs in the USA, I know of two who have astoundingly good results: Dr. Andrea Natale at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin, and Dr. Pasquale Santangeli at Cleveland Clinic. They might be able to fix you up and leave you with having to take nothing more than a statin for the rest of your life. Might be worth a phone call.