Is it normal to have leg pain after RF Catheter Ablation?

[locky88]

My wife had an RF catheter ablation done 4 days ago (Wednesday) to treat her WPW. According to the doctors, the procedure went well although it took longer than they expected (4 hours instead of 2 1/2). This resulted in 8 hours of lying in bed. Now she is at home but whenever she is standing or walking, her right calf and her last 2 toes experience some pains (sheaths insertion was done on the right side). If she is lying or sitting with her right leg up straight, then the pain disappears. Should she be concerned? was this related to the artery was clamped down for 1/2 while the doctor removing the sheaths? has anyone gone through the procedure experiencing the same thing? Will the pain go away? We plan to check with her doctor tomorrow if the pain still persists.

Thanks in advance for any reply

Locky

[locky88]

Thank you very much for your replies. Her insertion wound seems to heal nicely, no swollen or discoloring. However, the area slightly about that (where the doctor put a 'clamp' when he removed the sheaths) was bruise. It was purple but today it turned a bit greenish/yellowish. The problem she has seems to be when there is a strong blood flow down her right leg, then pain happens, not servere but enough to make her sitting down a resting it (straight out) again. Other than that, no redness or numbness happen to her leg. We will give our EP a call tomorrow just to make sure everything is ok.

Thanks again, really appreciate your replies

Locky

[ireneo]

After one of my ablations I did have pain down my right leg (my left leg seemed fine). Since I didn't have pain from the other 2 ablations I figure they must have bruised a nerve during the process. I was the same way - it didn't bother me much to stand up but walking or sitting down made my leg ache. For me that lasted about a month if I remember correctly. I know it was more than a few days.

Do watch out for redness, swelling or fever. Whenever they poke a hole in us, there's always a slight chance of infection. And watch for any discoloration in the leg or foot. If that happens, she should go in immediately.

I never heard of them "clamping down" the artery (they used femoral veins in all my ablations). They put pressure to keep the tiny incision from bleeding but I don't know about clamping it off completely. Might want to ask the doctor about that.

[SooZeeATL]

I had a PVI ablation a 6 weeks ago and I recall a lot of discomfort in the general groin and upper thigh area, but nothing down my leg.

I do remember the doctor insisting that I keep an eye on the area where the catheters were inserted to make sure the tissue was soft and that a hard knot wasn't forming.

Have your wife (or you) press gently in that area to see if it is hard and swollen. I had a knot the size of a quarter around one of the puncture wounds but I also had some slight bleeding for several days after the procedure and the doctor said my knot was just the blood pooling under the skin.

I called the doctor over the weekend and he said he would much rather I call than to wonder if something was wrong and maybe be in trouble. That's what they are there for. If I were in your shoes, I'd call the doctor just to be safe. Good luck to your wife in her recovery!