lead revision prior to valve replacement

Hello all!

My 75 year old very healthy dad had an emergency pacemaker put in on Dec 31, 2019 for bradycardia. He had just moved and did not have all his records prior to surgery. When the surgeon was in there he noticed that his atrial valve is badly damaged and at his 6 week follow-up said they had since received his records and the cardio team recommends a lead revision to go around the atrial valve and then 6 weeks later have a valve replacement. I was unable to be at this appointment with him unfortunatley so didn't get all my questions answered. He scheduled the lead revision surgery for next Wednesday and I am a bit panicked about this. I could not get him in to see a cardiothoracic surgeon outside of his group for a second opion consult until mid-April. I don't want him to rush into this as the pacemaker is working and he feels great AND his valve has been in need of repair for years. Here are my quesitons.

1. why do you need a lead revision prior to the valve replacement? my dad said that the new lead will go a different way as to not interfere with the new valve. true?

2. will the lead revision surgery be risky even though it has just been 2 months since surgery?

3. I can't find any information online about valve replacement after having a pacemaker, can anyone link any info? (everything I see if about the risks of pacemaker placement after valve replacement- which doesn't apply)

Thanks so much!

Jordan

 


1 Comments

leads and valves

by Tracey_E - 2019-03-07 11:18:49

I have no idea how they handle valve repairs/replacements with leads however, the longer a lead is in place, the harder it is to move so sooner is better than later. For the first year they can move it easily, after that scar tissue holds it in so well it takes a special laser to get it out.  If a lead goes through a bad valve, it would make sense to me to get it out of there whether you fix the valve or not.

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