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Updated: Apr 12, 2026
Upper-extremity Approach for Secondary Access in Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
Published on: August 8, 2025
Permanent trans-venous pacing in an extra-cardiac Fontan circulation
Sayqa Arif1, Paul F Clift1, Joseph V De Giovanni2
1Department of Cardiology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK.
Aims:
In patients with an extra-cardiac Fontan circulation, there is no direct access to the heart. The insertion of a permanent pacemaker requires surgery to insert epicardial pacing wires. We present the implantation of a permanent endocardial pacing lead from the superior vena cava (SVC) into the atrium via direct passage from the right pulmonary artery (RPA).
Methods And Results:
A permanent pacing lead was passed directly from the SVC to the RPA and then into the atrial mass. Direct passage from the RPA (attached directly to the right SVC) into the atrial mass was achieved using a trans-septal puncture needle.
Conclusion:
This novel technique is an alternative to epicardial pacing in patients with an extra-cardiac Fontan circulation, thus avoiding the need for surgical intervention. It may also be applied to gain access to the atrial mass for arrhythmia ablation therapy.
