Severe pain in the groin at the incision site after EP Study & Heart Ablation

[LeslieWagner]

I had an EP Study and Heart Ablation Sept. 2010. It is not October and I am still experiencing severe pain in my groin at the incision site.  It hurts to walk, sit, stretch, etc.  I've called the doctor several times and they keep blowing me off.  They did an ultrasound and have ruled out an aneurysm, but I keep asking what is the problem.  I hurt all of the time.  The doctor is too busy to be concerned.  I've missed a lot of work due to this problem, and I am getting extremely aggravated.  I was never told prior to the procedure that I would have pain like this.  The doctor said that I can go back to work right away.  When I question the doctor about the pain, she acts like I am insulting her character for wanting answers.  I still have irregular heart beats all of the time, so the ablation did nothing to correct the wpw.  Now I have pain in the groin where the incision was made.  Frustrated!


This discussion is related to PAIN AFTER 10 MONTHS.

[Najuria]

5 days after femoral vein eps. Im having pain in both sides. I have check up next week. They told me they tried right side first but entered through left, idk why yet. But pain more on left is making me think something happened. Maybe ligaments were compromised because that is what hurts. Cant walk without pain. I try to keep bed rest as much I can. Keeps getting worse each day. Brusing on both sides almost equal. I saw a video on how they introduce the catheter and is just below the ligaments in groin area. No wonder. I've had less pain pregnant with groin ligaments than this procedure, although first 2 days were fine. Not so 5 days after. Will seek advice from my dr.

[2210485]

1. You shouldnt be bruising, thats most likely your issue.. The bruising causes swelling and irritation and hence pain.

The reason youre bruising is because whoever pulled the sheath, the nurse that assessed you etc.. Didnt obtain proper hemostasis.. Improper pressure, improper time etc.

You can probably releive your symptoms with aggressive compression.. Wrapping your hips somehow with a warm towel and !alot! of continuous pressure for a day or so.


2. Both groin sites are always accessed in an ep study. 4 puncture sites are used, 2 on each sides.. Sometimes even 1 in the neck.

What they were trying to tell you was that during the procedure they had to cross over to the left side of your heart. This doesn't impact your legs at all.

[ed34]

There is a nerve very close to the femoral artery they use for access, and sometimes pressure against this can cause pain. Even damage. When they use the angioseal after the procedure, this can cause pressure against the nerve. This angioseal gradually dissolves over a period of around 90 days. If the pain still exists after this period, one could perhaps assume that damage has been caused to the nerve, but in most cases it does resolve itself.

[wjen]

change Drs!! immediatly

[ireneo]

I've had 3 ablations and while it's true, you can resume normal activities in a couple of days, sometimes we don't bounce back as quickly as we'd like.

After my first ablation I felt great except for deep ache in my right groin. It hurt to sit or walk any distance. I spent a lot of time standing instead. If I had to sit, I'd try to extend my leg straight out if possible. Still had the ache in the groin and thigh but eventually it did go away. My guess is they may have bruised a nerve. Once it settled down, I was fine. I think it took about 2 months.

Another time, I think it was the 2nd time, I was tired, emotional and cried at anything for about a week. I really hated that feeling.

3rd time was quite normal.

So even with my own limited experience, each ablation can be a bit different.