Publication Date
2-1-2020
Journal
The Texas Heart Institute Journal
DOI
10.14503/THIJ-18-6713
PMID
32148448
Publication Date(s)
February 2020
Language
English
PMCID
PMC7046357
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
2-1-2020
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-Print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Aged, Angioplasty, Balloon, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices, Catheterization, Peripheral, Constriction, Pathologic, Device Removal, Equipment Design, Female, Heart Failure, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Punctures, Treatment Outcome, Veins
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The number of procedures for upgrading implantable devices for cardiac resynchronization therapy has increased considerably during the last decade. A major challenge that operators face in these circumstances is occlusion of the access vein. We have modified a pull-through method to overcome this obstacle. Six consecutive patients with occluded access veins and well-developed collateral networks underwent a procedure in which the occluded vein was recanalized by snaring the existing atrial lead via transfemoral access. Upgrading the device was successful in all patients; none had intraprocedural complications. Our experience shows that our modified pull-through technique may be a feasible alternative for upgrading cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with venous occlusion.