Submitted by Dr T on February 10, 2011 – 10:46am
Question:
3 yrs ago I was diagnosed with Superventricular Tachycardia , i went to hospital and had a RF Ablation operation which was performed through a groin catheterisation.The ablation was successful according to the doctor as the Tachycardia was no longer inducible , i was sent home the following day over the following days i noticed a pulsing pain in the catheter entry site ,my local GP sent me for a CT scan i was then diagnosed with an AV Fistula which was caused by the cardiac surgeon piercing my vein and artery i was immediately sent back to hospital monitored for the next 6 days until the vascular surgeon decided to correct the cardiac surgeons error by operating and repairing the fistula.My question is this a normal occurance during this type of surgery and has there been any suggestion of negligence by the cardiac doctor causing the fistula, not detecting the fistula and by sending me home only to return soon after to have this error corrected.I now have a 8cm ugly scar from the correction surgery in my groin , i still have pain and numbness 3yrs after it was apparantly fixed
This is a rare complication but this sort of thing occasionally happens. Every procedure has the potential of a complication and those types of risks need to be weighed against the benefit – in your case a successful ablation.
Sadly, there is probably not much that can be done about the scar and numbness.
Hope this helps,
Dr T
https://www.cardiachealth.org/