Research hospitals and procedures

[CFS56]

I have an appt with an EP  coming up soon to start the process for an ablation,  I live in Virginia and have been referred to Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk.  I am going to talk to this guy but I'm also considering going to Duke.  I don't think my ablation will be simple, I have thousands of PVCs, afib and flutter and SVT.  Is there somewhere I can find the procedures and see how many each hospital does as well as the results?  I have looked on the web but so far have not found what I'm looking for.  Thanks for any help anybody can give me,

[CFS56]

Thank you.

[researcher09]

I see that the med school there has a pediatric arrhythmia program of limited scope and no fellowship program for EP.  My guess is that the principal EP is the one you will be seeing and that he will probably suggest an implant.  Best wishes in getting your issues resolved.

[CFS56]

Thanks for the info.  And Tom, I do remember you saying that and Sentara is attached to Eastern Va Medical School and the EP I'm seeing is on staff there.  So that will definitely be something I have to get settled.  Don't want a resident sticking things into my heart!  Scared enough as it is.
My first choice in this would be Cleveland Clinic.  But my husband would have a very hard time with the travel and the followup would be difficult.  Duke is only a 2 1/2 hour drive..

[researcher09]

You have a wide range of rhythm issues on your plate.  The most complex one being PVCs.  I am guessing that the EP will want to address the upper chambers to start so that would be RA and LA ablation, probably done in one procedure if they are good.  I don't get a sense of how busy and good they are at Sentara based upon their website information.  I am guessing that Duke is a lot more experienced and a better choice.  If you are willing to travel, there are a number of choices in the NYC area that can handle the entire range of issues you have.  Columbia U, NYU and UPenn comes to mind.  I don't believe Duke has stereotaxis which is an important safety/efficacy consideration for PVC ablation.  I am sure Sentara does not have it either.

[tom_h]

I've said this before, and perhaps you've seen it.  That is: IF you're going to a university hospital, ie. a teaching hospital, make sure that your electrophysiology will be entirely performed by the physician that you select and not a university Fellow.  When I mentioned this to my UMass electrophysiologist his response wa, "I will do the work if you want me to."  I took this to mean that someone else was going to do the work if I hadn't inquired. To these guys, it's just another day at work.