Wow, you've really gone the extra mile for get the best.
I had mitral (open heart) surgery last November, and I had it done in the closest small hospital that offered that type of surgery. I did look into the experience of the surgeon, but I suppose they all look good, board certified... I did like the surgeon, and my mitral vial has been repaired. I consider ablation a much simpler, lower risk, process than open heart surgery, so if I should go for that to address my ongoing AFib, I suppose I can get it done at the same hospital as my surgery.
I had an EKG yesterday, and while I though I had drifted back into AFib, I am in fact in AFlutter. I can tell the difference, my heart beat is very regular, just too fast, 100 when at rest, and not much more when walking around.
Where did you have your first ablation done? If you can, go to one of the top hospitals or EP to consult about a second ablation. It took me 2 years and traveling to many different states to talk to the top EP's before I finally became comfortable and confident in the procedure. I went to Cleveland CLinic, Mass. General, St. Lukes in New York, John Hopkins and Univ of Penn. Some people I know thought I was crazy, but I wanted one of the best "burning" my heart.
thanks for the input. a repeat ablation proceedure seems my only hope now but I just can't seem to have faith in it.. I did try sotalol but it had no effect stopping the afib episodes. I seem to have the same problem as twinbee with the meds. As I tried new meds they worked for a while but once the afib broke through they became ineffective. I also tried high doses of magnesium. for the first 2 weeks I was in sinus rhythm and then the afib broke through and the magnesium was no longer effective. I keep hoping medical science will find a cure but it looks to be way off in the future an I'm 60 now and probably looking at imminent heart failure.
I was on rythmol for about 2 months for my a-fib and a-flutter. When I was first put on the drug it worked wonderful. However, within 2 months I had a bad reaction to it and I had to be taken off the med. I do know alot of people on a different forum who are taking rythmol and they have no side effects and it does help control their a-fib. After I was taken off the rythmol I was put on sotalol and cardizem, and that seemed to help for a couple of years. Eventually, my a-fib broke thru those meds, and I decided to have an ablation done. Maybe you need to go and have another ablation to do a "touchup". It is very common to have to go in and have a second ablation.
I have been on a high dose of Rythmol SR, 425 mg twice a day, and Toprol XL 50 mg twice a day. I think the Toprol helps slow down my too high heart rate, but the AFig continues on. I was on Propafenone prior to Rythmol. I have also had repeated Electrocardioversions with mixed success, 2 weeks being the shortest period of steady sinus rhythm, the longest 18 months. I have no way of knowing how the heart drugs helped, but I can say none of them alone has given me even a short term cardioversion.
Ablation and/or a pacemaker seems to be the "next" step for me. I will discuss that with my EP appointment. Your experience with ablation isn't encouraging me to go that way. I may just live with AFib as I am mostly asymptomatic, other than the need to take a anticoagulant and a reduced capacity for physical exertion.