Old leads to be removed soon

Hi all,

I am 29 going on 30 who will need my old leads to be removed since I've had some really old leads in me since the age of 5.

My new doctor who just replaced my pacemaker 2 weeks ago said there are leads in there that are no longer in use and would need to be removed due to having 5 leads in me and have reached my max.

This is or was my 4th surgery, and he is telling me that he has removed leads before but that there is a 50/50 chance...?? I mean how scary is that... I'm not even 30 and he wants me to do this soon before I get any older.... so for my piece of mind... what should I do? Get it done soon or wait till my next replacement which will be another 9 years... and I will be 39 than.

I just want to know I'm not alone and there are others who survived or others have similar situations as me.

Any comments or suggestions would help my piece of mind.

Thanks! Marlene xoxo

4 Comments

lead removal

by zawodniak2 - 2016-02-24 04:02:07

Dr. Charles Love at the NYU Langone Heart Rhythm Center has performed over 8,000 extractions
Ph. 212-263-7149

Lead Replacement

by donr - 2016-02-24 06:02:53

This GUY is NOT the man for the job.

Lead replacement requires a true specialist who does at least 100 extractions per year!

They go in w/ a laser tipped "Roto Rooter" that uses the existing lead as a guide & cuts around the old lead. Those old leads are totally embedded in scar tissue inside that vein.

We have lotsa members who have had successful lead extractions. Bad probability is about 1%, NOT 50%.

It is necessary to have the job done in a complete Cardio-Thoracic suite w/ a C-T surgeon standing by in the event something goes awry w/ the EP doing the extraction & they have to open up your chest. Not telling you that to frighten you, but it is a fact of life for these procedures.

Have no idea how AZ is fixed for qualified extractors - you have to go to a BIG cardiac center to find the right man for the job (or woman).

This is NOT a trivial procedure & you must vet the surgeon candidates thoroughly & in detail - your life is at stake. Ask them how many they do per year - 100 is the benchmark for being qualified by national standards. Then ask for data on what their success rates are. Any waffling, bloviating, evidence of annoyance that you would dare to ask or hesitancy & you tell them politely "Thank You" & leave.

Start w/ a web search. You may wind up going to another state for the job i9f you cannot find a surgeon in AZ/

good luck in your quest!

Donr

Lead removal

by Good Dog - 2016-02-24 08:02:32

I went to the Cleveland Clinic a few months ago to discuss this very issue. The Clinic is rated the No 1 heart hospital in the U.S.
The doc said that they do not remove leads unless there is no alternative. He said it carries too much risk. They have extracted many, many 1,000's of leads. That is more than in most hospitals. However, the clinic cardiologists still consider it to be risky surgery. At the clinic the risk of complications is .5% (1/2% of 1 percent which is 500 people out of 100,000). By comparison, a really safe surgery has a risk of complication of about 0.001% (1 person in 100,000).
Bottom-line, I agree with all the others here. If you have to have them extracted, just be sure to go to a large and highly reputable facility that has 100's of extractions under their belt.
If you must have it done, your odds will be much better that usual. So just do your homework so that you can rest assured your getting the best treatment. If you do, I am confident you will be fine.
Sincerely,
David

get another opinion

by Tracey_E - 2016-02-24 11:02:32

Ditto everything Don said about finding someone who does a lot of them, plus I'd also get another opinion if it even needs done now. Are two of your leads working now? If they are, unless there is a compelling reason like scar tissue causing problems, I would not do it. There are some doctors who like to remove everything and start with a clean slate. Others are ok leaving well enough alone and not messing with it unless/until we have to. Just because of age, imo, is not a good reason to do it, esp if two of those leads are currently working.

Why I chose to wait when extraction was suggested, and the doc I saw for a second opinion agreed with my reasoning ... 15 years ago this surgery was unheard of, 5 years ago it was getting more common but still somewhat risky. Now, the laser sheaths have been much improved and there are enough of us outliving our leads that there are more and more surgeons who are very experienced so it's no longer considered high risk. However, there is still some risk. I'm gambling that those surgeons are going to get better and those lasers are going to get more sophisticated before I need it so the risk will be even smaller. I'm not worried so much about the scar tissue building up more, I've already got 20+ years of it so it's already going to be complicated. I know I will outlive my current leads but hopefully I'll put off extraction long enough that my next set will be my last.

I would not hesitate to travel for this if there isn't anyone local with enough experience. Some with old leads are more complicated than others, has to do with the type of leads they used to use causing more scarring, and/or sometimes placement of the leads makes it more risky to remove than others. If I were told I was in that latter group, that was extra complicated, I would go to Cleveland or Mayo. They are the best of the best for lead extraction. If they're just old but not especially complicated, then I'd go to the nearest surgeon who goes 100+ per year. This is not the time to be someone's practice case!

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