Arq. Bras. Cardiol. 2018; 111(5): 697-698

Reintervention in Artificial Cardiac Pacing Systems

Silas dos Santos Galvão Filho

DOI: 10.5935/abc.20180222

This Short Editorial is referred by the Research article "Usefulness of preoperative venography in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices submitted to lead replacement or device upgrade procedures".

Reintervention in artificial cardiac pacing systems that involves lead approach, either for the implantation of a new lead and/or the removal of an old one, is most frequently a difficult procedure, with a high probability of complications. Since the transvenous endocardial route started being used by artificial cardiac pacing systems, lead cables have shown to be more vulnerable to complications; however, when it comes to reintervention, the complications are much more frequent.

The significant prevalence of venous obstruction and the consequent difficulty in obtaining a new venous access, the complexity of percutaneous extraction of old lead cables, in addition to the higher prevalence of surgical infections, constitute some of the complications that determine the greater complexity of reinterventions.

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