Lead Extraction after 20 years
- by dudleyra
- 2017-12-21 01:03:34
- General Posting
- 1391 views
- 4 comments
New to this forum. Nervous about upcoming lead extraction for 2 leads that have been in place for >20 years. I am 42 years old. Leads implanted in 1997. Anyone care to comment on their experience under similar circumstances? It seems like the right thing to do to have them removed, but the risks of the procedure are weighing heavy on the mind of this father of four.
4 Comments
Leads
by ROBO Pop - 2017-12-21 17:45:33
I had my 3 leads repossessed after 10 years, he szid they popped right out. They were helix contactor style (screw) and he said a slight twist and they were free moving. They do usually have a Cardio-thoracic team on standby just in case.
I have never heard of a fatality from lead extraction. Rest easy
Leads
by bronsapil - 2017-12-22 19:54:09
2 days ago I had an operation, because of the same thing.One of my leads broke, so the doctor tried to extaction it, it was not fully succesfull, 5 cm part of the lead is still in my heart (in the myocardium), but the doctor said that there is not going to be any problems with it. Next time I am going to get a S-ICD. Good luck for your operation.
Leafs replaced
by Finn - 2017-12-24 19:43:35
I had lead extraction after 8 years back in August, they used a sheath laser since they may have been attached and may not slide out.
im 57, male, bradycardia . St jude pacer since 2009. My leads were making noise , in other words not working well for some reason so I went with the recommendation to remove them instead of capping and leaving them in. It was not an easy procedure but in the end I am fine.
why are you having them taken out?
finn
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extraction
by Tracey_E - 2017-12-21 15:46:08
If you search the old posts, there are quite a few first hand accounts of extraction. Do both leads need replaced? Mine are a little older than yours. One was bad, the other still working great. I had room in the vein so chose to add a new lead and cap off the old one rather than extract. I"m hoping that by waiting, when I get my next set of leads, it will be my last.
The surgery is complicated, yes, but it's no longer considered risky. The sheaths they use have come a long way and the number of experienced surgeons has gone up. I can't recall any members recently who ran into complications. The biggest thing is how experienced your team is. You want one that does at least 100 a year. My ep is very experienced but has already told me I am high risk and when the time comes he will be referring me to a colleague who is more experienced than he with high risk patients. This will mean traveling but it's worth it to get the more specialilzed surgeon.
Good luck!!!!