Percutaneous extraction of an infected permanent pacemaker in association with superior vena cava obstruction

ABSTRACT

The procedure of lead removal has recently matured into a definable, teachable art with its own specific tools and techniques. It is now time to recognize and formalize the practice of lead removal according to the current methods of medicine and the health care industry. In this article we report the first case in the United Arab Emirates of infected pacemaker extraction after 9 years of implantation of passive fixation lead for a VVI pacemaker using a locking stylet and countertraction technique with associated superior vena cava obstruction, which had been dilated using the balloon technique with deployment of a stent