Lead Extraction?

I posted a photo of my pacemaker leads in the member gallery. I've had some recent trouble with arrythmia, so EP ordered a few tests. He noticed on my chest x-ray that one of my leads has made a loop due to some extra slack that was left at the time of implantation. He, and 3 other EP doctors, agree that the lead needs to be extracted. I am getting another opinion at Cleveland Clinic next month, but I wanted to post a picture on here in case anyone has any input. I want to avoid a lead extraction if at all possible. The leads are only 4 years old. The arrythmia seems to be due to paroxynmal av block, not the leads. We were able to look at the original chest X-ray and from the side it appears to loop, but it may have flipped. Any thoughts?

1 Comments

leads

by Tracey_E - 2015-04-01 09:04:40

It doesn't get any better than Cleveland Clinic! Go with whatever they tell you. If the loop is going to cause problems, it's better to get it out sooner than later. The more scar tissue on it, the more trouble it is to get it out. However, my personal thoughts are if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If the lead is working well, if the loop is not causing problems, I'd probably wait and see rather than take action now.

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