A case series of the twiddler syndrome

Roberta Montisci; Cinzia Soro; Roberta Demelas; Elena Agus; Alessio Follesa; Gesualdo Siragusa; Vincenzo Nissardi

doi:10.1093/ehjcr/ytae004

A case series of the twiddler syndrome

Eur Heart J Case Rep. 2024 Jan 5;8(1):ytae004. doi: 10.1093/ehjcr/ytae004. eCollection 2024 Jan.

Authors

Roberta Montisci¹, Cinzia Soro^{1

2}, Roberta Demelas¹, Elena Agus¹, Alessio Follesa¹, Gesualdo Siragusa^{1

2}, Vincenzo Nissardi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Cardiologia-UTIC, Policlinico 'D. Casula', Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria-Cagliari, Department of Clinical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, SS. 554, Km 4,5, Monserrato, Cagliari 09042, Italy.
² Cardiologia-UTIC, Struttura Semplice di Cardiostimolazione, Policlinico 'D. Casula', Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria-Cagliari, SS. 554, Km 4,5, Monserrato, Cagliari 09042, Italy.

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.

Publication types

Case Reports