Background: Treatment of patients with systemic infections of cardiac implantable electronic devices and large lead vegetations are a clinical challenge. In such situations patients potentially had to undergo open surgical extraction in the past. The objective of this study was to evaluate the results of a concomitant percutaneous, minimal-invasive aspiration procedure with the use of an extracorporeal circulation in transvenous lead extraction procedures in patients with large lead vegetations.
Research design and methods: Prior and during transvenous lead extraction procedures lead vegetations were targeted for removal with a percutaneous aspiration technique based on a veno-venous extracorporeal circulation with an in-line filter. Clinical outcomes of the procedures were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: This innovative and minimal-invasive treatment concept was used in 35 patients with systemic CIED infections (mean echocardiographic lead vegetation size 22.6 (12-40) mm). Complete procedural success of the aspiration procedure was seen in 88.6% of the patients. No major complication related to the aspiration procedure occurred. Clinical success of the concomitant transvenous lead extraction procedures (35 patients, 83 leads) was 97.1%.
Conclusion: The presented data show that the aspiration procedure is safe and efficient as an adjunct in transvenous lead extraction procedures avoiding the need for open surgical extraction in such cases.
Keywords: CIED infection; ICD; extracorporeal circuit; lead extraction; lead vegetations; pacemaker.