Cardiac Perforation by Permanent Pacemaker Lead, One Year after Implantation — An Unusual Occurrence and Its Management

Delayed Cardiac Perforation by Permanent Pacemaker lead beyond one year of implantation is rare. It is also rarer in passive fixation lead, compared to active fixation lead. There is no Universal consensus regarding management of such cases with percutaneous versus surgical removal of the lead followed by re-implantation. Here we report a case of Right Ventricular (RV) perforation by a passive fixation permanent lead, in an 81-year-old lady, 14 months after implantation, who presented with Pacemaker capture failure but in hemodynamically stable condition. Pacemaker lead had migrated up to the Lower Lobe of Left Lung, Perforating Right Ventricle, pericardium and Left Pleura. We managed this case with open lead removal under direct vision by Lower Median Sternotomy, followed by implantation of an Epicardial Lead and Pacemaker

Congenital Heart Disease in the Pediatric Population in Eastern India: A Descriptive Study

This cross-sectional study assessed distribution and pattern ofechocardiography confirmed congenital heart disease, among593 pediatric patients in outpatient departments of a tertiary carehospital in eastern India. Commonest defects were ventricularseptal defect (43, 40.7%), atrial septal defect (241, 31.7%), andtetralogy of Fallot (125, 21%).

Uncovering the grammar of the coronaries

These books are the outcome of about four decades of research and deliberation on the subject by the authors, Dr Lopa Mehta and (the late) Dr Manu Kothari. Long known for their unorthodox outlook, and as erudite teachers and retired heads of the department of Anatomy at Mumbai’s Seth GS Medical College, the authors have maintained their usual lucid, illuminating and thought-provoking style of explaining the grammar of the coronaries and heart attack in the present works. They have questioned the conventional wisdom of interfering with the coronary system in order to set the circulation right, one of the cherished certainties of modern medicine. They have clearly asserted that such ideas are based largely on false premises.

Influence of formamide on the thermal stability of DNA.

The utility of formamide in the denaturation and renaturation of DNA has been examined. The melting temperature of duplex DNA is lowered by 0·6oC per per cent formamide. The depression of melting temperature is independent of the GC content. Formamide also increases the width of the thermal transition. Upto 30%, it does not affect the rate of DNA reassociation.