Patient Instructions after Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation (RFA)

Important information  

It is important to understand how to care for your child while they recover from radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) at home. Review these instructions and ask your healthcare team about any questions or concerns you may have.  

Instructions for care after RFA

After the procedure, a dressing will be placed over the catheter insertion site.  This dressing must stay on overnight.  If your child is staying in the hospital overnight, the healthcare team will remove the dressing in the morning.  If your child is going home on the day of the procedure, remove the dressing the next morning.  

Removing the dressing 

1. Wash your hands.  

2. Remove the gauze over the insertion site. The gauze may cling to the skin and bleed as the dressing is removed.   If bleeding occurs, apply gentle pressure to the site with a new gauze pad. If site is still bleeding after 10 minutes, call your healthcare team. 

3. Leave site open to air.

Cleaning the insertion site 

• Keep the insertion site clean and dry.  

• Clean the site with mild soap and water once a day and when it is soiled. Pat dry. Continue to do this until a scab forms.  

• Babies should have the site cleaned with every diaper change.   

• Diapers and underwear can irritate the site. You may cover the site with a bandage, but it is best to leave it uncovered as much as possible. If you choose to use a bandage, change it every time your child goes to the bathroom or gets a diaper change.  

• Your child should not take a tub bath until the site has a scab, usually in 1 week. Your child may go swimming 2 weeks after the procedure. 

• Do not put cream or ointment on the site for 7 days or until after the site has scabbed.  

• Your child may have a bruise near the catheter insertion site.  This may take 1 to 2 weeks to go away.

Activities

• Your child may return to school 2 days after discharge.  They may walk up and down stairs and walk to classes.  

• Limit rough activities for 1 week after discharge unless otherwise instructed by your healthcare team. Examples of activities to avoid include swimming, climbing trees, jumping rope, bicycling, gym class, and contact sports.  

• Your child should not lift anything that weighs more than 5 pounds for 1 week.  

Medicines

• Your child may need to take aspirin for 4 to 6 weeks.  Some side effects of aspirin include: bleeding gums, increased bruising, nose bleeds, stomach discomfort.  Give the aspirin with food or milk to minimize stomach upset.  Please call the Cardiac Center with any questions or concerns.

• If your child has a dental appointment within 6 months after their ablation, check with your cardiologist before going to the dentist. Your child may require antibiotics before dental work, including regular cleanings. This is to prevent an infection of the heart that your child may be at risk for following RFA. Let your cardiologist or primary care provider know when your child is scheduled for dental care so they can order antibiotics. 

Call the cardiology team immediately if your child has: 

• Temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Increasing pain 

• Tingling in the arm or leg   

• Trouble walking 

• Calf pain with walking 

• Coolness or color change (gray, blue) in the arm or leg 

• Increase in the size of the bruise at the catheter insertion site  

• Signs of infection at the insertion site: 

• Increase in swelling 

• Redness 

• Drainage 

• Odor 

In the weeks after the procedure, your child may have palpitations (skipped heart beats).  It is normal to have a few palpitations as the heart adjusts after the procedure.  Please call the Cardiac Center team if the palpitations last longer than a minute, feel the same as the child’s irregular heart rhythm before the procedure did, or your child has other symptoms (pale, dizzy, etc.).

Cardiac Center Contact Information

• Cardiac Prep and Recovery Unit/CPRU: (267) 425-6400, Monday - Friday 8:00AM -5:00 PM

• Weekdays after 5:00 PM, weekends, and on holidays please call the Main Hospital operator at (215) 590-1000 and ask to page the cardiology fellow on call.

Reviewed 8/30/2024 by Farzana Shah, MSN, APRN-BC