When the Wire Doesn't Come Out
Pankaj Garg · 2026
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Description
Garg wrote this 2026 editorial about a pacing wire that migrated inside a patient's heart over 24 years. Temporary epicardial pacing wires are placed after heart surgery. They are normally pulled out at the bedside. When removal fails, surgeons usually snip the wire flush with the skin. The case discussed here involved an 81-year-old man whose retained wire crossed the atrial septum and the mitral valve and lodged in his left ventricle, without causing symptoms.
Left-sided wire migration is rare, and a path through the atrial septum had never been reported before, the author notes. The treating team chose not to retrieve the wire, judging open surgery riskier than watchful care for an elderly patient with other heart disease. Garg endorses that caution, reviews the blood-thinning dilemma after bleeding forced a change, and urges clear documentation of any retained wire.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Pankaj Garg |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 5 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |