EP Study/catheter ablation gone wrong

[nhyatt]

Hi had a EP study to have ventricular tachycardia ablated on the 31st of March.  The doctors accidentally punctured the catheter through my heart and I felt myself passing out on the table and heard them yell out that my blood pressure was dropping.  They were able to clog the puncture with blood thickeners but had to drain the cup of blood that was trapped in the wall of the heart.  Has anyone had this happen to them?  I am now at day 6 and still cannot seem to go very far without it being hard to breath and lightheadedness.  The dr. has done several echo's to make sure everything has healed and no more blood is leaking.  I am curious if anyone else had experienced this before.  I had an ablation for WPW 15 years ago with no problem and it was a success.   This one was obviously not.  
Thank you

[BrokenH]

I had my EP Study and Ablation preformed on Feb 17th 2014 . I have psvt. It was located right next to my hearts natural pacemaker so only 80% of the extra pathway could be ablated. I haven't had any problems. From time to time my heart will race, but nothing compared to the 236 hb per minutes I had suffered from. I highly recommend it. I was semi awake and aware of what was going on.At the beginning of the procedure I did suffer from shock due to an allergic reaction to the foreign object entering my body "which is very rare" but the Dr. had it under control very quickly. My advice to you would be, make sure you have an Electrophysiologists with lots of experience to preform your Ablation. My Dr. was fairly young,but well experienced. Good Luck!!

[babytub]

I suppose to have one done now I'm afraid that oops by the heart doctor hands will kill me faster than my irregular heartbeat he wants to go inside me and look around to see what he find will

[premant]

my friend bill had some abalations a few weeks ago at a small pennsylvania hospital ,pittsburgh. he was in good health and worked out every day but did not like the heart arrhymias ..the operation went bad and they had to open the chest , he got infection and they also found hole in his esphogus . they put him into a coma after he had a stroke..they flew him to a big hospital and they took charge of his case. he started to improve and his organs were coming back when he took turn for the worst and went blind...Today he passed away age 68 .This was a elective procedure in which the doctor and hospital had only done 17 of these procedures. The doctors who did the procedure should be in my opinion receive harsh discipline and not allowed to practice without proper training.  Be vary careful about having this procedure...Ron

[Rudy777]

Hi Twinbee,
I just realize my reply to you months ago never got to you. Mine is Ventricular and epicardial they think.

[Rudy777]

Hi twinbee,
was your ablation ventricular or supraventricular? I am told there is a big difference
Rudy

[Rudy777]

Hi nhyatt,
I had a meeitng with a new EP at the hospital I go to and he told me that the Ventricular ablation isvery rare and much more riskier than supraventricular ablation but doable. He did talk about the risk of puncture to the heart or lungs may be even the diapragm. But he said this is ONLY the case when the place where the radio frquency waves used for ablation are to be directed to is in the rear and on the outside (epicardial) of the heart muscle wall. Ordinary ablation is supraventricular not like yours and what I am looking at having done. I have been concerned about this but I wanted to talk some more with them next week before posting here and then I found you. Was yours in the rear and/or on the outside wakl of your heart muscle too? if so these are the classic risks they talk about and I understand the risks are increased when the dr. tries to go at the same speed as the regular ablation, besides they recommend total anaesthesia for the procedure which takes around 5 hours. Going partial anaesthesia not recommended. Well I think that is what you had because otherwise you wouldn't be able to hear them when they punctured your heart.
My EP study was 5-1/2 Hours under full aneasthesia and they stopped the process when they saw the origin of my ventricular arrythmia was in the rear of my heart muscle wall and possibly outside or middle wall but not inside the heart chamber. This is why they stopped ...to consult, rethink and also check with me when I came to. I asked for time to think and recover else we could have done it tomorrow.
Otherwise, you will be fine but please stay with your meds and don't go sedentary. Wounded muscle need to be active to heal but check with your doctor as they always say as to what excercise works best. ...plus stick with the thinners whatever you do.

Good luck to you and let me know if your arrythmia source was epicardial (outside back wall) too.

Take Care and get well soon. You will be my motivation.

Rudy

[ireneo]

I know they always tell us about the possible problems that can occur during an ablation but the chances are so slim. . . . .  I'm sorry you were in that minute percentage. Even without the complication, it still takes time to get your energy back from an ablation. Your heart has been zapped, plugged and sucked. It's got to be worn out and annoyed. Do give it time to heal. Don't rush into things. Take care.

[twinbee]

You are only 6 days out from the procedure? I would give it time. I had no problems with my ablation, but I have heard of people who took longer to heal.