Project description:Lead perforation is one of the serious complications associated with cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators. Late perforations - occurring more than one month after placement - are exceedingly rare and are usually more associated with actively fixed leads rather than passively fixed tined leads. We present a case of blunt ended tined lead perforation after 4 months of implantation managed by a two-step hybrid minimally invasive approach consisting of mini-thoracotomy and lead tip transection, followed by trans-venous lead extraction. <Learning objective: Late perforation of a pacemaker lead (occurring more than one month after placement) is an exceedingly rare complication and is usually more associated with actively fixed leads rather than passively fixed tined leads. We describe management of a blunt-ended tined lead perforation by a two-step hybrid minimally invasive approach consisting of mini-thoracotomy and lead tip transection, followed by trans-venous lead extraction.>.
Project description:Cardiac perforation is a rare but serious and life-threatening complication of permanent pacemaker implantation, with an incidence of 0.1-6%. Surgery is usually performed through a median sternotomy; however, sternotomy-related morbidity remains a concern. Herein, we report a case of surgical repair performed via a left mini-thoracotomy for a right ventricular perforation caused by implantation of a permanent pacemaker lead in a 56-year-old woman. Through the left fifth intercostal space, the pacemaker lead was observed to have penetrated the left ventricular myocardium, reaching the pericardium. The lead had passed through the right ventricle and the inferior ventricular septum and protruded from the left ventricular myocardium. After pacemaker lead removal, a dark blow-out type hemorrhage occurred; hence, repair was performed using a pair of pledgeted Mattress sutures. In conclusion, left mini-thoracotomy provides an adequate surgical field and has less impact on hemodynamics when operating at the cardiac apex. <Learning objective: Left mini-thoracotomy facilitates easy access to the ventricular apex during in situ management, and also provides an adequate surgical field and has insignificant impact on hemodynamics when operating at the cardiac apex. We also present a detailed surgical movie that reveals a penetrating pacemaker lead, hemorrhage after removing the pacemaker lead, and making a stitch through left mini-thoracotomy.>.
Project description:Several risk factors for pacemaker (PM) related complications have been reported. However, no study has investigated the impact of lead characteristics on pacemaker-related complications.Patients who received a new pacemaker implant from January 1997 to December 2011 were selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. This population was grouped according to the pacemaker lead characteristics in terms of fixation and insulation. The impact of the characteristics of leads on early heart perforation was analyzed by multivariable logistic regression analysis, while the impact of the lead characteristics on early and late infection and late heart perforation over a three-year period were analyzed using Cox regression. This study included 36,104 patients with a mean age of 73.4±12.5 years. In terms of both early and late heart perforations, there were no significant differences between groups across the different types of fixation and insulations. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, the pacemaker-related infection rate was significantly lower in the active fixation only group compared to either the both fixation (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.07-0.80; P = 0.020) or the passive fixation group (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.83; P = 0.023).There was no difference in heart perforation between active and passive fixation leads. Active fixation leads were associated with reduced risk of pacemaker-related infection.
Project description:BackgroundLead perforation is one of the major complications of pacemaker implantation, but cases of right ventricular (RV) lead perforation through the septum and left ventricle are rarely reported. We described a rare case of left ventricular (LV) free wall perforation by an RV lead and the management of this complication.Case summaryAn 84-year-old man was admitted with a dual-chamber pacemaker due to pacing failure caused by an RV lead fracture. New lead implantation was performed on the next day, but pacing failure occurred again on the second post-operative day (POD). We found the lead perforation on the fluoroscopy during temporary pacemaker insertion. Computed tomography scan and transthoracic echocardiogram showed that the added lead perforated through both the septum and LV free wall. A new lead was inserted on the fourth POD, and an off-pump open chest surgery for extraction of the penetrating lead was performed uneventfully on the 20th POD.DiscussionWe considered that some features of the lead (SelectSecure 3830-69, Medtronic) may be related to this complication, as the lead was very thin, had a non-retractable bare screw and was inserted with a dedicated delivery catheter. We have to be careful when performing implantation of this kind of lead to avoid such a rare complication.
Project description:A 58-year-old male was admitted with history of shortness of breath and recurrent fever since two months. He had undergone permanent pacemaker implantation six years back for complete heart block. The patient was persistently having thrombocytopenia. Echocardiographic examination revealed mass (size 4.28 cm(2)) attached to pacemaker lead in right atrium. The patient was scheduled for open-heart surgery for removal of right atrial mass. During surgery, pacemaker leads and pulse generator were also removed along with mass considering the possible source of infection.
Project description:A subclinical cardiac perforation by a device cup of the Micra™ transcatheter pacing system was suspected in a 78-year-old woman. During the procedure, the device cup was placed on the septum. The contrast media was injected before device deployment and remained outside of the myocardium. Later, a cardiac computed tomography scan visualized a protruded diverticular structure on the right ventricle. The contrast material remained in a pouch within the pericardium. To ensure the device is oriented away from the border between the right ventricular septum and the free wall, right anterior oblique view should be carefully reviewed before deployment.
Project description:The number of infections related to cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has increased as the number of devices implanted around the world has grown exponentially in recent years. CIED complications can sometimes be difficult to diagnose and manage, as in the case of lead-related infective endocarditis. We present the case of a 48-year-old male diagnosed with Staphylococcus aureus device-related infective endocarditis, 12 years after the implant of a single chamber pacemaker. A recent history of the patient includes two urinary catheterizations due to obstructive uropathy in the context of a prostatic adenoma, 2 months previously, both without antibiotic prophylaxis; no other possible entry sites were found and no history of other invasive procedures. After initiation of antibiotic therapy according to antibiotic susceptibility testing, we decided to remove the right ventricular passive fixation lead along with the vegetation and pacemaker generator; because of severe lead adhesions in the costoclavicular region, and especially in the right ventricle, we needed mechanical sheaths to remove the abundant fibrous tissue that encompassed the lead. After a difficult, but successful, lead extraction along with a large vegetation and 6 weeks' antibiotic therapy, the clinical and biological evolution was favorable, without reappearance of symptoms. While very late lead endocarditis is a rarity, late lead-related infective endocarditis (more than 12 months elapsed since implant) is not an exception; this is why we find that endocarditis prophylaxis should be reconsidered in certain patient categories, our patient being proof that procedures with neglectable endocarditis risk according to the guidelines can lead to bacterial endocarditis.
Project description:Inadvertent placement of pacing leads into abnormal locations is potentially very dangerous. However, in emergency situations and without fluoroscopic guidance, these complications do occur. We report a case of an elderly male who underwent temporary pacemaker lead implantation without fluoroscopic guidance for cardiac arrest, but later the pacemaker lead was found to be in the non-coronary aortic sinus, but still capturing the myocardium. Interestingly, the post-pacing electrocardiography was mimicking atrial pacing.
Project description:A 79-year-old woman developed a hemothorax 2 days after implantation of a permanent pacemaker. Computed tomography angiography revealed active extravasation from the left internal mammary artery. A covered stent was deployed to manage the arterial perforation. This case report explores different venous access techniques to minimize the risk of arterial injuries and describes the use of a covered stent in managing a non-grafted left internal mammary artery injury from a pacemaker implantation procedure.