Pioneering use of intracardiac echocardiography in pediatric ablation procedure
Dr. Radosław Pietrzak and Dr. Tomasz Książczyk of the Department of Pediatric Cardiology and General Pediatrics UCC MUW, headed by Professor Bożena Werner, were the first in Poland to use Intracardiac echocardiography. The specialists have been supervising the pediatric electrophysiology team of the department since 2016. The team performs more than 100 ablation procedures per year.
Patient safety is a priority for the team, so solutions are being implemented at the department to improve it by, among other things, using tools to maximally reduce or eliminate the use of X-rays during procedures. Intracardiac echocardiography is one such method.
- Intracardiac echocardiography is performed using a small probe placed on a catheter inserted through the vessels into the heart cavities - explains Dr. Radosław Pietrzak. - It allows for accurate imaging of the heart's anatomy, monitoring of the course of the procedure, and early detection of potential intraoperative complications. It also makes it possible to reduce or even completely eliminate the use of X-rays during the procedure.
As Dr. Książczyk points out, this method is also of particular importance in arrhythmia ablation procedures in children following surgery for complex heart defects, where atypical access to the heart cavities may often be needed. The use of ICE definitely increases the safety of such procedures.
Expert support in procedures
Prof. Jakub Baran and Dr. Piotr Gardziejczyk of the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology UCC MUW provided expertise and advice on the use of ICE during the first procedures to our specialists. And also Dr. Laszlo Korneyi from the Hungarian Children's Heart Disease Center in Budapest, a European expert in pediatric electrophysiology. At the invitation of our university, Dr. Korneyi visited the Department of Pediatric Cardiology and General Pediatrics UCC MUW, gave a lecture and shared his experience in the surgical treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in children.