electrophysiologist?

Question

I'm having an ablation done next week for VT, I've tried to research the doctor who is doing this (Dr. Robert Styperek) in Rome, ga. I can't find any info on him. It says that he is just an M.D. and F.A.C.C, which i don't know the meaning of!! I'm terrified to have this done, can anyone give me some advice and has anyone ever used him before? He works at Redmond Regional ?!!!!

Answer 1

Who referred you to this MD? He/She should be able to tell you if he is a good doctor or not.
I had an EP study and ablation in October and was cured. I was scared, but I knew what I had to do because I could not keep getting doses of Adenocard. I was afraid they would screw up in the ER, and something would go awry and I would die over a dose of Adenocard. It may sound crazy, but I am a hospital nurse and I know the possibilities.
When you get into the cath lab, you will be wired and things are so high tech in the procedure, if anything even remotely looks wrong, they are on it immediately. You have the best of high technology and its amazing what they can do. I was so scared and the monitor tech in the cath lab during the procedure told me I was in the best place to be for my heart to be acting crazy, which it did on the cath table before the procedure started. There were 3 people besides the electrophysiologist in the lab with me and they were very knowledgable and kind. They will sedate you and make you so relaxed you could care less what they do. The hardest part for me was waking up briefly while they were pushing the catheters up into my groins on both sides. They gave me some pain meds and gorked me out again. It is my understanding they can approach thru your neck.
This procedure is really huge if you are having it done, but the EP doctors think it is fairly benign and tell you there is nothing to it.
I know you will be fine. You are much more likely to have problems from v tach then to have problems from the EP study. and ablation.
Take someone with you to drive you home. I left the same day about 2 hours after the procedure. Take a couple days off work to let your sites heal up and relax. You will do great. I feel re born since my heart quit going crazy on me. It is the 1st time in 20 yrs I have been able to get on a plane or go horse back riding.
It feels sooooo goood.

Answer 2

Sorry, I also don't know him, but an MD, F.A.C.C. is a good start. You might want to check if he also passed the Electrophysiology board examinations. Try searching the web for NASPEx. I think they list people who have taken and passed the exam.
And you might want to find out how long he has been doing this. Try to find someone with at least a few years of experience behind him or who is working with a group of more experienced electrophysiologists, not someone fresh out a fellowship working alone.. It is a high tech area of medicine, and it helps to have someone who has been around the block a few times :>).Don't be afraid to ask him this. He should not be offended. You are simply asking for some information.
He will probably not be working alone. VT ablations can be a bit involved, but you will be on several monitors and carefully watched the entire time.
There will likely be several staff members and nurses, as well as a clinical expert representative for the equipment and computerized mapping system that they will be using. this team of specialists will collaborate to provide you with the best possible outcome.
Good Luck.

Answer 3

Don't know him personally, but FACC means a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. Sounds like he is qualified, and hospitals require at least a fair level of competence if the doctor is allowed to be on staff.

Don't work yourself up into tachycardia worrying about this. This is a fairly common procedure nowadays, and you need to be aware that sometimes they have to do it more than once to ablate the problem area.

Take a deep breath and try not to worry, just try to imagine how nice life will be after this is over.