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Any experiences with Watchman Implant for A-Fib?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Mar 8 8:52am | Replies (261)Comment receiving replies
Debating whether to travel four hours to Cleveland for the Watchman procedure (there's a surgeon nearer but my son and I would prefer theCleveland CLinic as I really need a total quality cardiac work-up - my home area is medically sub-par overall.
However, I wonder how many trips to the treating surgeon and facility would apt to be involved in having this procedure (not counting the annual post-up check-ups). It's sounding like at least 1/2 dozen even without complications.
I should add that his father recently died of a cardio-vascular issue, and my sons are especially worried about me now - saying "we don't want to lose our only remaining parent." However, they live far from me (the one who's pressing me to the Cleveland Clinic is in SF while I'm in Central PA), and can't fly here to help to drive me for procedures and check-ups more than a few times. - and it would be quite a hardship to drive myself to and from Cleveland. I'm not even sure I could manage it.
Can anyone help me, please?
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Yo.u will need to do a TEE before the procedure. This will take about one hour or less. For the procedure itself, if you do the Cleveland Clinic, I would suggest you go the day before the procedure and stay a night in a motel then go to the clinic the morning of the procedure (that is what I did for my first procedure). The Watchman procedure itself will take about one hour to do. I had to report to the hospital at 7 am.Once the Watchman is in, you will spend about 2 hours in the recovery area. You will be flat on your back the whole time and not allowed to move your leg. Then you will spend the night in a regular hospital room. The next morning, they will remove the bandage and replace it with a clean one and send you home. You will have to have someone drive you home as you will not be allowed to drive. If you are four hours away from home, you will need to do several "rest" breaks on the way home to get out and move around a little bit.
You will have to do another TEE at some point after the procedure to see how you a re healing. After that, if all went well, you will be done. I am not sure what your doctors will want to do before the first TEE as to what test they want to do. They might want to do a stress test on the treadmill and some x-rays. It's a bummer you are so far away from the clinic.
For both TEE's, you will need someone to drive after the test.
I will also add, when you get the procedure done, take a good robe with you as you will be required to get up and do some walking at some point. A good robe is a lot better than wearing two hospital gowns.