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Case Reports
. 2024 Jan 5;8(1):ytae004.
doi: 10.1093/ehjcr/ytae004. eCollection 2024 Jan.

A case series of the twiddler syndrome

Roberta Montisci  1 , Cinzia Soro  1   2 , Roberta Demelas  1 , Elena Agus  1 , Alessio Follesa  1 , Gesualdo Siragusa  1   2 , Vincenzo Nissardi  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case series of the twiddler syndrome

Roberta Montisci et al. Eur Heart J Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Twiddler syndrome (TS) is a complication of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation, caused by the deliberate or unconscious manipulation of the device by the patient himself, which results in dislocation of the leads by retraction towards the subcutaneous pocket.

Case summary: This report describes two clinical cases that occurred in our centre, for which two different solutions were successfully implemented. In the first case, a complete removal of the stimulation system was performed, and a leadless pacemaker (PM; Medtronic Micra VR) was implanted. In the second case, the patient underwent a revision procedure. The PM was disconnected, and the electrodes were debrided, a submuscular pocket for the PM was created, and at the end of the procedure, the PM was anchored to the pectoralis major.

Discussion: Twiddler syndrome is a not so rare and serious complication of CIED implantation, leading to device malfunctioning and higher risk of infection of the pocket due to multiple re-interventions. In these two cases, different surgical solutions were performed, both resulting to be effective to solve the effects of TS.

Keywords: Case series; Leadless pacemaker; Submuscular pacemaker implant; Twiddler syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Case report 1. (A) Post-implant chest X-ray. (B) Chest X-ray—6 months later.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Case report 1. (A) Pre-discharged chest X-ray—after revision of the pacemaker and repositioning of the lead. (B) Chest X-ray—1 month after the pacemaker revision.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Case report 1. Chest X-ray—after complete removal of the stimulation system and leadless pacemaker (Medtronic Micra VR) implantation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Case report 2. (A) Post-implant chest X-ray. (B) Chest X-ray—1 month later.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Case report 2. Chest X-ray—7 months later.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Case report 2. (A, B) Phases of the lead repositioning surgery.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Case report 2. (A) Post-revision chest X-ray. (B) Chest X-ray after lead repositioning.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Case report 2. (A) Chest X-ray—3 months after the revision of pacing system. (B) Control chest X-ray—1 month after submuscular (pectoralis major muscle) implantation.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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