The surgery was done with a catheter, through the femoral artery. I think at the time it took three hours. From what I was told with cryoablation, they mapped the electrical pathway that caused the afib. Then position ballon and cool area to make sure it is in right place. Test to see if blocked current. If right spot, then freeze. To be honest the worst part for me was waking up feeling great (like ten years younger) and having to stay in bed. Other thing that for me was weird is that I always felt my heart beating growing up, after ablation I no longer feel my heart except if I do major exercise or it skips a beat.

Not OP but I had an ablation performed for a heart issue many years ago where they went through the femoral, I was fully recovered more or less in a week. All the gave me for pain was ibuprofen and that’s just cause it was sore to walk from where on my leg they went in with the catheter.

Minimally. People leave the day of or the day after the procedure, worst complication is usually it fails or a tiny bit of bleeding at the insert site of the catheter.

There are many different kinds of surgery and procedures, from minimally to maximally invasive