Ablation with a pacemaker

Hello group, i was wondering if i could get some advice on my upcoming surgery, which is scheduled for sept 6, 2012. I have a coupleof concerns, such as how long is the recovery time at home and how long should i expect to be home. I know everyone is different I was just trying to get maybe an average assestment.

9 Comments

Not bad

by ebfox - 2012-08-14 09:08:29

Hi,

I had my ablation prior to getting my PM, but unless the PM complicates it (which I would doubt), it is pretty easy surgery. I had mine on a Friday, was on the table 4 1/2 hours, spent one night in the hospital; went home after lunch on Saturday; walked about a mile on Sunday, and went back to work on Tuesday. The worst pain I experienced was a sore throat from the breathing tube. The catheter entrance points in the groin (both sides) were not bad at all. I had one short run of SVT, that felt weird but otherwise it was an easy recovery. I have talked to others who had similar experiences, a few people had low energy for a couple of days. I did talk to one guy who had a problem with one of the catheter sheaths; apparently his was done by a Resident who messed it up. So make sure your EP does it himself.

Good luck, hope it goes well-

EB

thanks Janet

by asims10 - 2012-08-14 11:08:07

this is the same type i am having. i was told by my dr no driving for 4 weeks and no heavy lifting for 2-4weeks. i am a detective on a narc unit. so i am wondering how that would affect my work in anyway. my husband will be home with me for 3weeks and i guess we will go from there.

eb

by asims10 - 2012-08-14 11:08:27

thanks for ur response as well...i am hoping not to be down long. oh and trust only my EP will be doing my procedure. i would not trust anyone else. thanks again for the response, this will be a challenging thing for me and my family. but i know with god, my husband and family, and the support from this website i will be fine. so glad i found this site.

I had an AV node ablation

by janetinak - 2012-08-14 11:08:42

with PM insertion in 2000. It was onTuesday. Went home on Wed.,took rest of wk off & went to work on Mon. Had a clerical type job, very tired that 1st day & Tylenol for minor pain (found out allergic to a couple of narcotics so stayed on Tylenol only). Of course, lot depends on your tolerance AND the type of job you have.

Hope this helps,

Janet

Ablation

by asims10 - 2012-08-15 03:08:36

I am having a AV Node Ablation with a pacemaker.

Ablation ?

by pete - 2012-08-15 03:08:53

You did not say what type of ablation , so unless you can be specific you cannot expect much help from the answers.

AV Node Ablation/PM

by newyorkjetsgirl - 2012-08-15 05:08:06

Hey! After an SVT ablation and two Sinus Node Modification Ablations this year, I had my AV node ablated and my first PM fitted two weeks ago on 7/31.

I'm in my 20's, and I have an active job as well, so I definitely understand your concern about the timeline of being able to get back to work! At the advice of my cardiologist, I'm planning to take a few more weeks of medical leave before I go back. Although the pain from the sites (both the groin sites for the ablation catheterization and the pacemaker scar) is gone, I'm still requiring a little bit of help around the house. Two weeks post-op, I'm definitely up and about, going to Starbucks and the market, for example, but I'm not ready to resume my high-stress corporate job until I'm confident that I can use both arms and have my device settings right. However, I know that there are a lot of people on this site who are able to get back to work more quickly than my situation permits, so I don't mean to scare you.

I also had a similar experience to yours in that I had a few weeks to plan for the procedure, so I was able to come to terms with it and wasn't nervous about the surgery so much as the reality of getting used to being 100% paced. It's nerve-wracking for the first few days but such a relief to feel a steady, normal heartbeat after years of debilitating arrhythmias. It's a big step, and I'm really happy that I took it.

I wish you the best of luck! Please don't hesitate if you have any further questions.

newyorkjetsgirl

how are you doing after ablation?

by jimkirschvink - 2012-08-15 12:08:29


I have a pacer, and 5 years later I had heart flutter, so I had the ablation. Best thing I ever did! I probably should have gotten it a lot earlier than I did. I switched doctors, and it was the best thing I could have done!

ablations/pm

by mereiriz - 2012-08-18 09:08:42

7 ablations and 2 pacemakers. For me, completely different experiences! I've had accessory pathways ablations, SA node modifications, an SA node complete ablation and an AV node complete ablation. Also, one regular pacemaker and one resynchronization therapy device (3 leads). One of the ablations was through open heart surgery. Sometimes I've been able to go back to school/work in a few days, sometimes I've needed a month to recover. It all depends on many things. But for a regular ablation/pacemaker insertion you should be fine in less than two weeks.

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I finished 29th in London in 2 hours 20 minutes 30 seconds which is my fastest with or without a device so clearly it didn’t slow me down ! I had no problems apart from some slight chaffing on my scar - more Vaseline next time.