The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 77, 858-862, Copyright © 1979 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Further evaluation of the sutureless, screw-in electrode for cardiac pacing. Experience with first 300 implantations
KA Mansour, JI Miller, PN Symbas and CR Hatcher Jr
This report details our experience with 300 sutureless epicardial electrode
implantations performed in the past 6 years. Indications for pacing,
surgical approaches, implantation sites and complications are presented.
The subxiphoid approach was valuable in obtaining safe, reliable, and
long-term impulse generation. Complications have been few and of short
duration. In general, pacing thresholds have been lower and sensitivity
thresholds higher with left ventricular implantation than with right
ventricular implantation. Endocarcial pacing is reserved for the very aged
and debilitated patients, patients requiring implantation within 4 to 6
weeks of acute myocardial infarction, and for atrial or atrioventricular
sequential pacing.