ABLATIONS

Check it out

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jan/20/las-vegas-hospital-gets-tech-boost-cardiac-care/#livefyreComments

Vinnie

3 Comments

Interesting !

by IAN MC - 2015-01-22 06:01:40

Thanks for posting that Vinnie. I wonder if human beings will ever be redundant in operating theatres ( apart from the patients ) ?

Robotic ablations , using magnetic technology, have been in use in the UK for quite a few years now .Recent comparative studies have shown that ablations done by robot have reduced procedure times and have better 1 year success rates compared to manual procedures for atrial fibrillation patients.

I was interested to read that your article quotes procedure times of 2 to 8 hrs for manually performed ablations. I had one done without the new technology in London by one of the top guys in the UK and it took less than an hour so don't believe everything you read.

Brave new world !

Ian

Long known

by golden_snitch - 2015-01-23 06:01:10

Thanks for sharing!
It's interesting that this is indeed an article from 2015. Like Ian, I can report that magnetic navigation (Niobe stereotaxis) has been used in Hamburg/Germany, at the centre where I was treated for many years, since about 2004 or 2005. My Mom had her AVNRT ablated using this system eight years ago. And then Dr. Sabine Ernst from the clinic in Hamburg went to Royal Brompton in London and introduced the system there.

I had ablations back in 1999-2001 which took between three and ten hours. Nowadays, the complex Afib ablations can take up to four or five, but other ablations like atrial flutter, ectopic atrial tachy or AVNRT can be done in less than an hour.

Inga

They're getting better at it !

by IAN MC - 2015-01-23 07:01:15

I had my flutter ablation done at the Royal Brompton Hospital four years ago and almost used Dr Sabine Ernst from Hamburg.

I saw an equally eminent colleague there, Dr Markides and he put me off using magnetic navigation because at that time it meant considerably longer procedure times. It seems that they are becoming quicker as they become more experienced with the technique !

I was told that Dr Ernst would probably take around 3 hours for a flutter ablation and he could do it in under an hour. The shorter the time they are inside your heart the better , so I opted for a manual ablation in the hands of a very skilled operator.

I had a VERY successful outcome

Ian

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