Doctor Giuseppe Picciolo explains how the innovative intervention works
A wireless pacemaker was implanted on a patient from Messina at the Piedmont hospital. An intervention carried out to date by a few hospitals in Sicily, to which the Irccs Piemonte – Bonino Pulejo is now added.
«We are happy to be able to say that for this type of service it will no longer be necessary to go outside Messina, indeed it will be possible to welcome patients from other cities – states the general director Maurizio Lanza -. Our Institute is always attentive to welcoming excellence and innovation for continuous and constant growth in terms of quality of our techniques and equipment.”
«This is an innovative intervention in the field of electrophysiology – explains the head of the Cardiology Unit with Utic of the Piedmont Hospital, Dr. Piercataldo D’Aleo -. From an aesthetic point of view, the advantage is clear because there is no type of external equipment, but it is only a device similar to a cup, in this case also removable and replaceable. This is a very important aspect, especially for young patients and athletes. This application also reduces the risk of infections. Naturally, it is not possible to implant this type of device on all patients – continues the head physician -, a series of objective requirements must be evaluated which the team will examine from time to time during outpatient visits”.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Giuseppe Picciolo, cardiologist at the hospital in Viale Europa, who explained the instrument and the method of application in detail: «The pacemaker used is a new miniaturized device without electrocatheters which regulates the heartbeat, minimizing the problems of the cardiac implant. traditional pacemakers, linked not only to infections but also to possible damage to the electrocatheters, enclosing all the functional units in a small capsule. The wireless pacemaker is approximately 10 times smaller than the standard one and is positioned in the right ventricular cavity with a minimally invasive procedure, under local anesthesia and without scars.”
The wireless pacemaker is implanted transcatheterally with a transcutaneous approach using a cannula from the groin. The expected life of the battery is more than 17 years and if necessary it is designed to be associated with an atrial pacemaker for synergistic operation.
In the operating room together with the cardiologists Giuseppe Picciolo and Giulio La Rosa the staff of the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Unit, with doctor Liliana Bonanzinga and the operating room nurse Melania Musicò.
