why so many second/third ablations?

Hello,

I've noticed that a lot of you on this site and on others, have had more than one ablation.  I know that the stats suggest high rates of success for WPW and SVT (90-95%).  I think I read that A-fib is a bit lower. So for those who have (or had) WPW or SVT did you just end up in the low 5-10% ablation failure range or are there other factors involved?  

Thanks

Brandon

[ireneo]

I've had 3 ablations. In my case I have a few different arrhythmias going on. They were able to zap the atrial flutter out of existence. They thought they had the PSVT under control but it came back. After the 2nd ablation they knew my heart wasn't fixed yet but it had been 7 hours and they stopped. The third time they were able to get some control of the PSVT. I still have it but it doesn't last as long (usually less than a minute). My rate still pops up to 130-198 bpm a minute but since it's so brief, I can handle it. The ectopics are just part of my daily life. So although my heart isn't totally perfect, it's so much better than it was. That's enough for me.

[dancinheart03]

I was told by my Ep that sometimes it may take a couple of ablations to really fix the problem. I know myself, I have had 2 ablations done and the last one was successful. I still get alot of pvcs, some days worse than others.

Did you say you were heading for a ablation?

[dredg]

yes, I am having my 1st (hopefully only) ablation March 20th.  

[dancinheart03]

Good Luck!

Im sure everything will go well and you will be cured....If you dont mind, what hospital will be doing your ablation?

[dredg]

I am having my ablation performed @ salt lake city regional medical center.  However, my doctor usually practices out of Intermountain Healthcare but I am having it done @ SLCRMC because of insurance reasons.  Same equipment, same doctor, different location.  

[Momto3]

I had two procedure because I was multi-focal.  The majority of my PVCs were coming from 2 predominant foci, but different sides of my heart.  I knew ahead of time that it might take more than one procedure.  Took 2, with 12 burns on the right side and 12 on the left.

[sueinns]

Some folks have different arrhythmias, in different spots.  I had an ablation for SVT but not for my PVC's which are multifocal, meaning that they could require more than one ablation to fix (as Momto3 has pointed out).  I had the ablation for the condition that bothered me the most - the SVT and I have chosen to live with the PVC's.  If they become intolerable, then I will definitely consider another ablation.  Although not 100%, I'm much better now that the SVT appears to be cured (fingers crossed as it's only been 6 weeks).

[Leslie613]

I had to have two ablations for WPW because the first time they went in and did the mapping they found that my accessory pathway was located in an area that was hard to reach through a typical ablation (they did 20 burns and couldn't get it), so the second time they actually had to puncture a hole in my septum and go through the atria instead of the ventricles.  Even then it took 12-13 burns.  Oh well.  Still better than open-heart surgery!