Thank you again, @phoenix1647 As I read through your prompt reply, it seems to yield the same six visits I got counted after talking to a nurse at the nearby (an hour) surgeon's office: 1). consult 2) testing 3) TEE 4) Watchman procedure 5) TEE either right before or. after the procedure to make sure there are no clots 6) some kind of check-up after ~45 days to ensure the device has been sealed in by new cardiac tissue .

Of course, that presumes no complications or need for additional testing.

As I said before, that's not even counting post-op check-ups (6 months, after one year and thereafter annually.)
Distance is a super major problem for me for out of town procedures (and for anything remotely complex that's necessary) . I've traveled three hours driving alone (not counting anything where I've had anesthesia). If I can't make it alone, I need to pay for travel expenses (airfare, taxis, hotels and possibly hiring drivers). And as a singleton, I also need post-op help for recuperation (unless I can go to a rehab center.).

That major spinal operation (9 hours) involved numerous trips before and after the actual surgery and the auxiliary expenses mentioned above added up to a LOT even though insurance covered all the actual medical part. (As I said, I had 8 consults to choose the surgeon as the operation is so dangerous.
That was about the same distance from home (NYC). The older I get, the harder it becomes to travel to another location. After all, my only problem isn't. AFIB.

I. certainly regret moving to this location because of the lack of quality medical care. At least, one son has been there for every surgery (the surgery itself) but one - knee joint replacement. -. I managed that entirely alone.

I suspected the Cleveland Clinic would be hard for me and now I'm thinking it's probably not going to happen because of all the visits required. I see there are three specialists there who perform the Watchman and even though their reviews were stellar, all patients commented on having had to wait a LONG time to see the surgeon. Three months on average - and even the local surgeon can't fit me in for two months for the consult. Meanwhile (confession), I've stopped taking Xarelto owing to fear of the other disease which is aggravated by oral anticoagulants.

Specifically, I was recently diagnosed with "wet" macular degeneration, an incurable blinding eye disease.. It involves. small, fragile capillaries growing into the retina and leaking - the blood scars your macula and destroys your central vision bit by bit. Naturally, I don't want to accelerate this process by taking a blood thinner which effectively turns me into a hemophiliac! FWIW. all this research has been done on my own.

What fun - choose between a stroke or blindness (and besides, strokes themselves often lead to blindness)! But oral blood thinners carry risks too, besides which they can make hemorrhagic strokes immediately deadly - extra likely for anyone like me who's a fall risk. (Thank YOU - sarcasm - spinal surgeon!). Besides, other things can lead to ischemic strokes (AFIB is behind only ~ 15%), and apart from my age (75) and gender, I'm pretty OK in those regards: normal BP, weight and regular aerobic exercise.
Aging is NO FUN especially when you can't count on decent medical care to soften the blows!