To suggest a story, please leave a comment against this page. We can’t guarantee that we’ll publish everything, but can ensure that all ideas are reviewed.
To suggest a story, please leave a comment against this page. We can’t guarantee that we’ll publish everything, but can ensure that all ideas are reviewed.
Dr. Vikas Kuriachan and specialist nurse clinicians from electrophysiology (Cardiac Arrhythmia Service) participated in a first procedure in western Canada. With the support from the transplant clinic (Dr. Deb Isaac), a patient with a Left Ventricular Assist Device underwent an complete AV nodal ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation. The patient also has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) previously implanted. Due to rapidly conducting AF, he has been recieving inappropriate therapy from his ICD. Maximal pharmocological approach was not able to suppress AV nodal conduction. Therefore it was decided to perform a right bundle and His bundle ablation procedure.
This is the first confirmed case in western Canada where ablation procedure has been performed on an a patient with an LVAD. There are limited publications on ablation procedures performed in patients. These were for Ventricular Tachycardia and more recently pulmonary vein isolation due to paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation. The procedure was successful and patient was discharged the following day.
Thank-you for this suggestion Andrew!
We’ll be featuring this story in the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress edition of Libin Life. Procedures such as this ablation on a patient with an LVAD and ICD as well as epicardial ablations performed by Dr. Kuriachan, and the no-fluoro ablation recently performed by Dr. Yorgo Veenhuyzen on an expectant mother, will be of interest to the broader Canadian readership. As a Gold-Plus sponsor of the 2011 CCC, all delegates will receive a copy of Libin Life in their delegate bags!