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Lead Extraction Experience with High Frequency Excimer Laser
Author(s) -
TANAWUTTIWAT TANYANAN,
GALLEGO DANIEL,
CARRILLO ROGER G.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/pace.12406
Subject(s) - medicine , laser , lead (geology) , excimer laser , excimer , retrospective cohort study , surgery , single center , optics , physics , geomorphology , geology
Background A higher frequency Excimer laser sheath using an 80‐Hz pulse repetitive rate was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2012. We reported our initial clinical experience with a high‐frequency Excimer laser sheath and compared it with lower‐frequency laser sheaths which have been previously used. Methods In this single center, retrospective cohort study, we evaluated patients who underwent lead extraction from December 2008 to May 2013. Those who underwent lead removal without using a laser sheath or with approaches other than subclavian were excluded. Primary endpoints included total laser time, number of pulses, and complications. Data on clinical characteristics, lead type, indications, and outcomes were prospectively collected and analyzed. Results A total of 427 patients were included in the study (72.6% male; age 67.9 ± 15.23 years). Lower frequency and higher frequency laser sheaths were used in 315 and 112 patients, respectively. A total of 821 leads were removed with 765 leads (93.2%) extracted using the Excimer laser sheath. Lead age was 5.71 ± 4.96 years. Complete extraction was seen in all patients. A higher‐frequency laser sheath was associated with a lower laser time and a lower total number of laser pulses even after adjustments for the number of leads, type of leads, and lead age. In the higher frequency group, mortality rate was 0.9% and minor complication rate was 3.6%. Conclusions When compared with the lower‐frequency laser sheath, the higher‐frequency laser sheath requires less laser times and more efficient amount of pulses for lead extraction with comparable success rate. Due to the rarity of major and minor complications, no statistical significance was found between the two groups.