Any experiences with Watchman Implant for A-Fib?

What is an atrial clip?
The Procedure

The AtriClip, which is applied to the outside surface of the left atrial appendage, permanently closes the left atrial appendage at its base, preventing blood from entering the pouch. This procedure is performed by a cardiac surgeon using minimally invasive surgical techniques.

from all my reading I understand they can just sew it closed. there is also another device that will just clip it closed and just recently I was reading about a new process called "the lariat" which is just inserting a loop around the LAA and simply closing it off tight....interesting......there was some discussion years ago that the LAA actually has some influence on body temp...hmmmm....

From my research, the LAA serves no useful purpose. Why is it there? I have no clue. I often wondered why they can't just sew it closed but have never seen anything on that subject. I am thinking duct tape won't work here....

Very refreshing to see someone like you doing your homework.....thank you for the information.....I have been trying to find out what is the purpose and what is the function of the LAA.... now that is an interesting path to travel....hope all is well with you and 2021 is a much better year.

When my cardi first mentioned Watchman, I got on the internet and searched for all the information I could find. I am a person that wants to know everything I can learn about a procedure or medical condition I might have. There is a lot of info out there about the watchman.....all of it is basely the same. The official Watchman website has a lot written but does not really give that good of information. At least not what I was looking for. The official Watchman website is there for one thing only.....sell their product. I have read many write-ups from hospitals, clinics, etc about what the Watchman does and how it is supposed to work and very little about how it is put in a heart. I found ONE site that did say," if a watchman is installed, to remove it for any reason will require open heart surgery". Hmmmm...I don't recall reading that on the official Watchman website.
My first thought was "so, this thing only stops blood clots coming from LAA...I can still get a stroke from clots from other places Why bother getting the watchman." Then my cardi reminded me of how many AFIBs I was having. She said "every AFIB episode has the potential of causing a blood clot and stroke. My son and my neighbor had strokes and I saw first hand what it did to them. I do not want a stroke. If the watchman can stop just one stroke, it pays for itself. Some people will ask, how do you know if the device actually stopped a blood clot....plain simple answer is...you don't know.
Know and understand, really understand,.. the risks and possible benefits of having a Watchman procedure. There are risks with everything you do...I trust my cardi, my cardi trusts the surgeon so I will trust the surgeon knows what he is doing He has done hundreds of watchman installations. Some, like my first attempt, fail. This is not due to the surgeon, it is due to the size and location of the LAA or some other reason the surgeon feels he can not safely complete the install.

As for me, it was MY decision to get the Watchman. I decided based on all the information I could find on my own and what my cardi gave me. My cardi did NOT push me into going ahead with the procedure. She gave me the best advice she could based on my health and heart conditions. I trust my cardi and her words carried most of the weight. So, talk to your cardi. If the watchman is not right for you, your cardi should say so. If in doubt get a second opinion from an independent cardi from a hospital/clinic not related to the one your cardi is in. \

If the next attempt of installing a watchman fails, I will do the ablation route. Ablation sure was not my first choice based on my research. Again, getting this procedure should be YOUR decision. Talk to your family and friends, listen to your cardi team and do your research.

I hope this will help quell some questions and fears about the watchman.

Thank you. We often go blindly trusting to a new doctor.

The watchman prevents blood clots from forming in the heart. Blood clots can be formed in any part of the body. So your friends blood clot could have come from the leg or a wound of some sort not related to the heart. Sorry your friend had a stroke, I know those can be bad.

First, let us remember, we are discussing the "watchman" device. the watchman device DOES NOT protect your entire body from blood clots. it is only designed to prevent the blood clots caused by afib in the LAA, to not form in that pocket. that is the only purpose of the "watchman" for some reason every discussion I have seen about the watchman seems to assume that the watchman will protect you against all blood clots in your body. just to be clear, it does not. so, yes even if you have a watchman you can still get blood clots....Wishing everyone here a happy new year, and hopefully a better year.

I have a friend who had a watchman installed. He had a second stroke anyway. I guess there are no guarantees.

Did you get your assessment done for the watchman? Answer a few questions and they assign points to your answers to see if you are eligible for the watchman. Your cardi does that.