It has been one month today since my ablation procedure and everything continues to go very well. I have not had any AF episodes that I am aware of. A few times I have had the all too familiar anxiousness in my chest that used to precede an AF attack but so far they have come and gone without incident. I haven't decided yet if this feeling is all in my mind or if it is caused by whatever stray electrical signals in my heart that used to trigger AF but are no longer able to because of the ablation lesions. Fellow afibbers know all too well the effect on your mind and outlook that living with AF for any length of time can have. This is regardless of how many medical folks tell us that AF is benign or not life-threatening.
I thought I might try to recap my recovery since most visitors to this blog at this point are people scheduled for or considering a similar procedure. The biggest questions I would have had beforehand for someone else who had been through an ablation would have been: 1) What did the procedure feel like?, 2) What was recovery like, and 3) How long did it take to get back to normal? I've posted before about the procedure itself and the hospital stay so now I will try to add some detail to what followed. As always, feel free to ask questions by posting comments and I will do my best to answer in a follow-up comment.
The discharge instructions said I could shower when I "got home" so that was one of the first things I did when we got back to the hotel. I wanted to remove the last of the bandages and try to feel a little more normal again. I can't remember how many days later I was still finding leftover adhesive from bandages, electrodes, and whatever else they stuck on me. During this first shower I could feel a lump about the size of a marble just under the skin at the right groin incision. This was the side that ended up with the worst bruising so I'm guessing it was a blood clot. I asked the EP nurse about it by phone a few days later. She said it was nothing to worry about unless it got larger or started hurting. It did neither and after a week or so I could tell it was starting to shrink. One month later it is a fraction of the original size and my guess is it will be completely gone in a few days.
As far as bruising goes, I ended up first with the normal bruises at my IV site and the inside of both elbows from all the lab draws. Four or five days after the procedure I noticed the beginning of a larger bruise just below my right groin that seemed to appear overnight. Over the next several days it continued to grow and at 10 days it was about 6" (150mm) x 2" (50mm). It took at least another 10 days to go away completely. I did end up with a small 1" (25mm) bruise under the left groin but it did not last very long. Initially there were no problems with the neck site at all but maybe 15-20 days later I was surprised to see a 2" (50mm) bruise on my upper right chest about 3" (75mm) below the site. This was the only one that was at all tender and still remains.
My heart has been fine so really the only limiting factor for me was the limited mobility because of the groin incisions. I was able to walk the day after the procedure but my venture from the hospital to the car to the hotel was made with very small steps using more my knee joints than my hip joints. The next day (2 days post-ablation) I was amazed with how good I felt overall so we went for a drive to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. My wife and daughter walked the half mile trail down (and back up) to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. I felt I could have made the walk as well but common sense let me walk only a few hundred yards but it felt great to be outside. When we flew home a week after my ablation, I was walking normally through the airports with very little discomfort. I had no problems at all by the time I returned to work one week later.
Looking forward to one more month from today is when I should be able to discontinue the Cardizem and Flecainide. Another month after that I hope to be off the Coumadin. Follow-up testing should come at the 3-month mark as well and should be a good indication of how successful the ablation was. I have very high hopes based on how well everything has gone so far. I'll keep you "posted" ;-)
Dave
