Cryoablation

[Bert]

I was wondering some of us had ever heard of the prcedure called cryoablation. It's a new minimally invasive procedure for children who suffer from arrythmia, and has been performed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. This Hospital is affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is Canada's most research-intensive hospital. I was put in touch with one of their cardiologists, and was truly impressed with their level of compassionate care eventhough they are leaders in scientific and clinical advancement.

He's extremely interested in Jonathan's case since I faxed them all of his test results. Hey! We may be able to combine a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame at the same time!!

Bert

[Reenie]

Re: Cryoablation

Dear Bert,

I had a radio frequency ablation - RFA - in April and before I did I spoke to my EP about the cryoablation. She told me that it's a promising thing for the future, but that at that time she preferred RFA. She said they used to do cryoablation a long time ago too. I don't know what the difference in the procedure from then til now is. I also don't know how cryoablation would work for the HCM heart. I do know that most people with HCM don't get RFA. Something about the cell structure being different so you might not get the same results as a normal heart? I do know that the RFA worked for me and my arrhythmias are cured. I'm sure there will be a lot in the medical journals about the cryoablation though. I wonder, will it soon replace RFA? Hmmm.

Reenie

[Cappy]

Re: Cryoablation

Here is a link that I found for it.

Press Release from The Hospital for Sick Children

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: Cryoablation

HSC sees hundreds of children a year with fast arrhythmias, commonly referred to as supraventricular tachycardias (SVT). This condition occurs in children who are either born with an extra electrical connection between the top and bottom chambers of the heart or have an abnormality in the heart's usual conduction system. Most of these patients are suitable candidates to have their arrhythmias ablated

This is not a procedure for HCM - it is however a procedure for those with rythm problems, which may or may not be related to HCM - however it is not likely that this procedure will be used often in HCM.
This procedure much like Radio frequancy ablations (mentioned above) are for those with pathways that can be found and termintated. Those with HCM may sometimes have these pathways but it is not very common.

It is an interesting procedure that will hold hope for many.


Lisa

[Sarah]

Re: Cryoablation

An addition to what Lisa was saying....

HCM heart muscle tissue is disorganized, so clear pathways are hard to find and ablating one arrhythmia won't prevent another, so the odds of a successful RFA ablation (not to be confused with alcohol septal) is much lower. (Point of clarificaton: Reenie doesn't have HCM, her husband does.)

There is a "maze" ablation that kills a maz-like pattern to create only one good pathway, but this procedure is riskier and has a higher death rate.

S

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: Cryoablation

Good point Sarah - Thanks!

Lisa