Guest guest Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 I was unfortunate enough to have one of the recalled leads and mine broke. They put in a new lead and left the old broken one in place. They did not remove it. Sydney -- changing leads Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 A very experienced EP should remove the leads, HOWEVER, a Thoracic surgeon should be standing by.... one on 100 people have to be opened up immediately if the EP should tear a vein trying to remove the lead... So make sure you have a Thoracic surgeon nearby if any repairs have to be made.... the shorter time the lead has been in place, the easier it is to remove. Good lick to you, sometimes they jus abandoned the lead and place a new one.... ~guin shadow061 wrote: Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 But should a thoracic surgeon do the lead change/replacement? I am scheduled to have a malfunctioning lead replaced on friday by my EP who has put in my ICD and its 2 replacements. Also what are the consequences of not replacing a pacing lead.? Other than causing my defibrillator to vibrate like a cell phone as an alert. From: Sydney <autumn_moon1@...>Subject: Re: changing leads Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 8:29 AM I was unfortunate enough to have one of the recalled leads and mine broke. They put in a new lead and left the old broken one in place. They did not remove it. Sydney -- changing leads Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 I would trust my EP to remove my lead IF he is experienced. I would however make sure a thoracic. Many times they will thread a new lead and leave the broken lead in place, provided you have enough room to run another. Orf course the question comes - at what point do you begin removing them to make room for future leads - I say remove them while you are young and have an experienced EP. The risk of not replacing a pacing lead? inappropriate shocks or NOT pacing you at all! Why would you not consider replacing the lead? I would want my ICD and leads to operate to the best of their ability. ~guin  surgeon is standing by.Kathie wrote:  But should a thoracic surgeon do the lead change/replacement? I am scheduled to have a malfunctioning lead replaced on friday by my EP who has put in my ICD and its 2 replacements. Also what are the consequences of not replacing a pacing lead.? Other than causing my defibrillator to vibrate like a cell phone as an alert. From: Sydney <autumn_moon1verizon (DOT) net> Subject: Re: changing leads Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 8:29 AM  I was unfortunate enough to have one of the recalled leads and mine broke. They put in a new lead and left the old broken one in place. They did not remove it.  Sydney  -------Original Message----- --  From: shadow061 Date: 3/29/2010 10:52:54 AM To: @groups ..com Subject: changing leads   Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 the reason i consider not replcing the lead is because i use the pacing < 1% of the time. I do trust my EP for the most part but he doesn't like to explain a lot. I went to him when my device started vibrating on and off. Something i didn't know was even possible. After evaluating my ICD he couldnt tell me what was wrong with the lead. The interrogation only told him high impedence in the pacing wire. an x-ray was no help either. Should i have surgery? What happens if i get shocked and the pacing doesnt work? What are the possible problems of lead replacement surgery? Kathie From: Sydney <autumn_moon1@ verizon.net>Subject: Re: changing leads@groups .comDate: Monday, March 29, 2010, 8:29 AM I was unfortunate enough to have one of the recalled leads and mine broke. They put in a new lead and left the old broken one in place. They did not remove it. Sydney -- changing leads Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 The first line of defense in your ICD is pacing. For example if you are having VT your ICD will try and pace you our of it, if the pacing is unsuccessful you will be shocked.  If you have Bradycardia, your ICD will try and pace your heart rate up, if it is not successful you will be shocked to normal rythum. So you see the pacing wire is just that pacing will/can save you from getting a shock. Without a working pacing wire the first and only line of defense is to be shocked by your ICD. Your biggest concern of lead replacement surgery if if the Doc tears the vein then you can bleed out, that is why you need the thoracic surgeon there -- to repair the damage. However if the Doc only caps off that lead and threads a new lead, you don't have to worry about lead removal. I think you need to talk to your Doc and find out if he is actually going to remove the lead or just run a new one. You should also know how many times he has removed a lead and what his success rate is as well if a thoracic surgeon will be there for you. So as far as the lead goes -- Do you wear your seat belt? Has it ever saved your life? Will you stop wearing it? So with your ICD you want it working to the best of its ability so it can save your life. I am paced less than 3% of the time, but I sure want it working to pace me out of dangerous rythum so that I am not shocked. Do keep us posted. ~guin Kathie wrote:  the reason i consider not replcing the lead is because i use the pacing < 1% of the time. I do trust my EP for the most part but he doesn't like to explain a lot. I went to him when my device started vibrating on and off. Something i didn't know was even possible. After evaluating my ICD he couldnt tell me what was wrong with the lead. The interrogation only  told him high impedence in the pacing wire. an x-ray was no help either. Should i have surgery? What happens if i get shocked and the pacing doesnt work? What are the possible problems of lead replacement surgery?  Kathie From: Sydney <autumn_moon1@ verizon.net> Subject: Re: changing leads @groups .com Date: Monday, March 29, 2010, 8:29 AM  I was unfortunate enough to have one of the recalled leads and mine broke. They put in a new lead and left the old broken one in place. They did not remove it.  Sydney  -------Original Message----- --  From: shadow061 Date: 3/29/2010 10:52:54 AM To: @groups .com Subject: changing leads   Hi all was wonderig if anyone can give me some info on changing leads i have heard that the only one doctor that should do this is a throtiaic surgeon, sorry for the misspelling there, even if a EP doc has the exp its best to have a thor surgeon do this? Is this true or ok for the Ep to do it ? the Ep i had forst is very good and put the leads in with no problems now that i have been going to the VA im wondering ? i have one lead that has a kink in it so wma wondering if it will have to be changed of just left alone. john in az  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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