Leadless Pacemaker Implant Procedure Available
Children's Mercy now offers an innovative alternative to traditional pacemaker implants.
Let's get right to the heart of things. We’d like to share more details about our transcatheter leadless pacemaker implantation service at Children’s Mercy. You will find more details about leadless pacemakers, their benefits, and our doctor who leads the services below:
What are Leadless Pacemakers?
Leadless pacemakers are small (some up to 93% smaller) pacemakers implanted through a puncture site in a vein in the leg instead of the veins in the chest or through an open chest surgical operation. These procedures are performed by the Electrophysiology Service, led by the Director of Electrophysiology, Dr. Philip Chang. Following implantation, leadless pacemakers are self-contained inside the heart without any extension to a device pocket under the skin surface where we traditionally place pacemaker devices.
Why Leadless Pacemakers?
Leadless pacemakers are less invasive to implant and are self-contained within the heart, thereby minimizing risks of infection and activity restrictions. For example, one of our patients developed an infection with a traditional pacemaker, and we had to remove it altogether. We then replaced it with a leadless pacemaker, which provided the same pacemaker functions and support while eliminating some of the factors that led to the patient's previous pacemaker infection. Another patient had a leadless pacemaker implanted as a first choice over a traditional pacemaker based on the patient's specific pacing needs and to minimize long-term infection risks. If you have questions about leadless pacemakers or would like more details, please email Dr. Chang at pmchang@cmh.edu.
About Dr. Philip Chang
For those who may not know, Dr. Philip Chang, MD, FACC, FHRS, is the primary operator at Children’s Mercy who implants leadless pacemakers. More about him is below:
Dr. Philip Chang, MD, FACC, FHRS, joined the Ward Family Heart Center at Children’s Mercy Kansas City in March 2022 as the Director of Electrophysiology. Before his appointment at Children’s Mercy, he was the Director of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Electrophysiology at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital. Additionally, he has previously served as the Director of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Care Program at Keck Medical Center of USC (Los Angeles, CA) and Director of Electrophysiology at the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center.
Dr. Chang has experience and expertise in all facets of pediatric and congenital heart electrophysiology. His clinical and research interests include complex arrhythmia ablation procedures; zero- or low-fluoroscopy EP/ablation procedures; cardiac implantable electronic devices, including pacemakers, defibrillators, and resynchronization devices; transvenous lead extraction; and arrhythmia management in adults with congenital heart disease. He has extensive and ongoing experience in implantable device therapies, including leadless pacing, direct conduction system pacing, transvenous cardiac resynchronization device implantation in pediatric and ACHD patients, and subcutaneous defibrillator implantation. He is also actively involved in original and multi-center/collaborative research projects.
Dr. Chang is board certified in Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease. He is a fellow in both the American College of Cardiology and the Heart Rhythm Society.