In December 2015, I found out I had a small problem on one of my leads in which it had a higher threshold pacing causing it to use more energy to detect my heart. I was given the choice to have the leads extracted sooner or wait until replacement time. Due to my severe pain I was having in my incision I choose to have the leads extracted sooner and replacement of my iCD with pocket revision as well. I asked my ep many questions prior to making my decision to have it done sooner.
Although I knew the risks associated with lead extraction and knew I had the very best in my care, I still wanted to speak to someone who has had lead extraction before to hear from a patient stand point. I went to the international SADS conference in 2015, although we did not officially meet at the conference, I knew Greg had lead extraction before since he spoke about it, and we happen to have the same doctor performing the lead extraction. I spoke to him and asked him a few questions about the lead extraction and after hearing from a patient stand point I felt better about my decision to have it done sooner.
In June 2016, I had the lead extraction and pocket revision for my ICD. I had general anesthesia. My new ICD was placed submammary (under my left breast tissue and on top of my muscle). My new lead was tunneled from right side to the left side new spot because I have a persistent left superior vena cava and this anatomy can be challenging to place new lead on left side. My leads were inside me for 16.5 years. The surgery took about 3 hours. My groin was used as the excess point for the lead extraction, so after the surgery I had to lay flat on my back for 4 hours. I stayed at the hospital for one night and was discharged the next day. I had post op appointment two weeks later and my ep said I was healing well. I recovered well after surgery.