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Ablation recovery time?

Posted by sandw40 @sandw40, Jun 25 8:08am

For those that have had an ablation I am curious if there is a certain recovery time involved.

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grover81 | @grover81 | 4 days ago
In reply to @gloaming "@sandw40 Yes, although it's all relative. A ripe old age 200 years ago was about 60...." + (show)
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@sandw40 Yes, although it's all relative. A ripe old age 200 years ago was about 60. Most TX'd (time-expired) in their late 40's and into the early 50's. Now, with better diets, more reasonable domiciles, fewer great intruders and fears on our peace of mind in urban centers (less fight-or-flight cycles in a day or in a week), we are in better health by 55 and beyond, But, we still do age, and our economy has permitted many of us to be able to afford the kind of advanced care that forestalls our ends for 20 years or more. We just need more air conditioning, higher costs for grub and necessities, and the good will of people who know us to lend a hand now and then.

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@gloaming
There have been several comments on the different ways ablations are done other than groin entry. My open heart surgery was done by cutting at the base of my sternum with a tube inserted to the back side of my upper left chamber where the burn was applied. They called the procedure, as 2 operations were done, a convergence procedure. I was in hospital for 2 days. That was 10 years ago and I’m now 81 with occasional AFIB and doing everything I can to keep living life!

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gloaming | @gloaming | 3 days ago
In reply to @grover81 "@gloaming There have been several comments on the different ways ablations are done other than groin..." + (show)
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@gloaming
There have been several comments on the different ways ablations are done other than groin entry. My open heart surgery was done by cutting at the base of my sternum with a tube inserted to the back side of my upper left chamber where the burn was applied. They called the procedure, as 2 operations were done, a convergence procedure. I was in hospital for 2 days. That was 10 years ago and I’m now 81 with occasional AFIB and doing everything I can to keep living life!

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@grover81 Thanks. I saw a video on YouTube about six years ago describing what the EP called a 'hybrid' ablation procedure where they entered below the sternum and went behind the heart, pierced the pericardium, and ablated the posterior wall of the left atrium. A week later, through the groin and performed the more standard catheter ablation. Some foci are best accessed through the pericardium externally to the heart.

I don't know what the percentage is for groin access over other methods, but I would be confident it is about 10/1 or more. Except for the most difficult and intractable cases, groin access is for internal catheter ablation is going to be the least risky, and all that is necessary.

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activegal | @activegal | 3 days ago

Understand that not all ablations are the same. Many only get the 4 corners of the back atrium wall ablated ( scarred). You must wait until the scarring heals over and your heart heals. If you’ve required a thorough ablation because you are in persistent a fib then they would have had to have mapped out all of the electrons firing that shouldn’t be and targeted them. That means more extensive scarring to 6 walls….. back, front, sides, roof and floor of atrium. Otherwise, the ablation will not last and you will need another one soon! Watch youtube Dr. Scott Lee what your doctor didn’t tell you for a very comprehensive backgrounder on a fib. This video really opened my eyes to the procedure and how to approach the electrophysiologist. You need a very skilled one! Recovery takes 7-8 weeks. And you really shouldn’t be doing a lot more than walking until the heart heals, otherwise you could be back where you started. But, get specifics on your exact situation from your electrophysiologist. Maybe you are only getting the 4 corners done if you are just in paroxysmal a fib. A fib grows like a wild fire over time if left untreated and will become symptomatic.

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jc76 | @jc76 | 5 hours ago
In reply to @grover81 "@gloaming There have been several comments on the different ways ablations are done other than groin..." + (show)
Profile picture for grover81 @grover81

@gloaming
There have been several comments on the different ways ablations are done other than groin entry. My open heart surgery was done by cutting at the base of my sternum with a tube inserted to the back side of my upper left chamber where the burn was applied. They called the procedure, as 2 operations were done, a convergence procedure. I was in hospital for 2 days. That was 10 years ago and I’m now 81 with occasional AFIB and doing everything I can to keep living life!

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@grover81
What my electrophysiologist (EP) told me after my last ablation. He found the source of the worst area when he was inside heart and did ablation.

He said I had two other areas causing PVCs but were on the outside of heart and could not be ablated when inside the heart method.

Sounds like your source was on the outside of the heart.

My ablation was done through the groin on June 4th for LV ablation. About 10 years ago had ablation on RV and was also done through groin.

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