stereotaxis ablation

Just wondering if anyone has heard of or has had a stereotaxis ablation? I plan on talking to my doctor about having an ablation and I'm scared sh*tless about the possible complications. And after reading about this stereotaxis system its looking more and note appealing.

[Jerry_NJ]

First I wish you a good and Happy New Year which includes a healthy heart.

Ablation is a minimum risk procedure, I can't say I know what "stereotaxis" is but it is still an ablation.  

If you doctor believes your benefit outweighs the risks it would seem to be the past path forward for 2013.

I could research your terminology but will stop here and watch to see if you can get some first-hand inputs.

[michellepetkus]

Have you been diagnosed with Afib?  I did look it up and it looks like a new technically advanced way to do an ablation but from what I have read it is usually performed on Afib patients doing ablations on the pulmonary veins.  I see you are in your early 20s and those that young don't usually have Afib but rather an accessory pathway svt but if you have been diagnosed with Afib and/or you have been told your doctor would use this newer technology regardless of the type of svt you have then I would say it seems to be even more precise then the standard RF ablation technology.  Regardless of the technology used like Jerry said, the risks and complications of heart ablations are actually extremely low.  The biggest risk in avnrt is the destruction of the avnode and need for a pacemaker but that is very rare and usually the doctor will stop before he ablates if the spot is too close to the avnode.  The only other complication for most ablations is the risk of it returning but in general the odds are extremely low for anything to to wrong during or even after the ablation. I think the odds of complication for cardiac ablation are somewhere around 2% so I wouldn't worry too much about complications if your svt is disrupting your life and doing the ablation will help you to get it back.  That said, there are no guarantees in life, all medical procedures do carry a risk that the doctors are required to tell you about but as far as medical procedures go cardiac ablations are really very safe.  They don't always work as I have seen in cases of afib ablations with the issue coming back but for most they do work and most do find the ablations cures them.  Well good luck talking to your EP and I wish you the best whatever you decide to do.  Do keep us posted.  Take care.

[razzelfratz]

Well I have svt, don't really know what type. I like the idea of Stereotaxis because the catheter they use for it is a lot softer and pretty much all the risks with regular ablation are pretty much gone with the Stereotaxis. When I say risks I mean possibly puncturing a heart wall, messing up a vein and them not being able to reach the part that needs to get fixed. I feel big relief with the idea of the Stereotaxis and it pretty much being fool proof.

[tom_h]

Stereotaxis ablation with using magnetically steerable catheters was around when I had mine done just over 2 years ago.  When I question the use of them with my EP, he said he preferred the manual method as is provided him with tactile feedback that a joystick did not.  There are facilitied using it, of course.  But to find one, you may have to look outside of your immediuate area.  Choose your EP carefully, and you needn['t worry about the procedure.

[razzelfratz]

I really like the idea of the stereotaxis ablation, simply because it is lesser risk than a normal ablation. I'm nervous about having an ablation done because I dont want to come out worse than what I am now. And I have read online that they wont know what area they need to ablate until their in there. which kind of worries me. I have always been an odd ball when it comes to medical stuff, and with my luck theyd need to ablate an area that they cant get to with a normal catheter. thats kinda one reason I am looking into the stereotaxis system because they can get to areas that are impossible to get to the manual way. I have been living with svt for 3 years now. and needless to say it has kind of ruined my life. I have always been looking into the possibly of getting an ablation but have never been totally comfortable with it. I would read about ablations about 10 times a month. hoping that one day Id feel comfortable with having it done. and what do ya know, on the first day of 2013 I go to do my usual ablation reading and for the first time in 3 years I read about the stereotaxis machine...I feel its a sign. After reading about it I have become a lot more comfortable with the idea.

[tom_h]

You can think of a hundred reasons to talk yourself out of an EP study.  I had SVT for 54 years.  These weren't 1 minute episodes, but the kind that run on and on needing intervention on my part to convert them.  Towards the end,  having 5 episodes per month, I welcomed the procedure.  Was I nervous? You bet!  But the idea of backing out never crossed my mind.  I was ready.  Perhaps some day, you'll feel the same way too.  As I've told others, you will know when the time is right.

Regarding the stereotaxis option, consider this: The operator is using a joystick to steer the catheters.  He has no feedback through the machine.  The heart wall can be easily punctured with the tip. Using manually manipulated catheters the electrophysiologist can feel when he bumps up against the heart wall.  There's tactile feedback using the manual method that's not there with the magnetically steerable variety.

The odds are you have the garden variety AVNRT which the majority of females with SVT have.  Again the odds are that it will be easily ablated using either method.

I encourage you to read Jannie411's experience.  She was awake for the entire process while I was under general anesthesia the almost the time I rolled into the cath lab.  Jannie has a number of chapters leading up to as well as post-ablation.  Here's the chapter on the actual process.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Heart-Rhythm/Jannie411s-Ablation---Part-2--Section-3---The-Actual-Ablation-continued/show/1499079

Today, Jannie is free of SVT (as am I) and exercises without fear of SVT occuring.  She shows up here occasionally, so you might find her around every now and then.  Of course, I'm here all the time if you have any questions.

[razzelfratz]

Thanks tom for your feedback. From what I am reading it is impossible for them to puncture a heart wall with the Stereotaxis system. The catheter they us is the consistancy of a cooked spegatti noodle. It also has a soft tip unlike normal catheters that have a coil at the end.

[tom_h]

Check out the Sensei system as well.  I believe this perhaps the most widely used of the robotic systems today.