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Our Promise
to You |
Clients represented
by our firm filed the first personal injury
lawsuits in the nation against Medtronic.
We have been appointed to a leadership
role among plaintiffs' counsel in the litigation
against Medtronic in federal court.
Our
injury lawyers have years of experience
successfully representing clients in personal
injury cases. We provide each client with
high-level individualized representation.
There is no charge or obligation for our review
of your injury lawsuit.
We have retained product safety and medical experts
nationwide to assist our clients with their claims.
In addition to a team of experienced lawyers,
we have dedicated nurses, legal assistants
and case clerks to assist our attorneys in
the Medtronic recall litigation. Our firm
has six full-time nurses, including ones
with decades of experience working with heart
patients. |
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Free Case
Evaluation |
Lieff Cabraser represents
persons across America injured by the
Medtronic Sprint Fidelis heart lead. Click
here to contact an experienced injury
attorney at Lieff Cabraser for a free
case evaluation. Or call us toll-free
at 1-800-948-2181. |
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Medtronic News |
Read excerpts from the latest
news covering the Medtronic recall and lawsuits:

Lieff Cabraser had
been investigating patient complaints
concerning the Medtronic heart lead prior
to the recall announced by Medtronic. On
the same day as the recall, heart patients
nationwide represented by Lieff Cabraser
and co-counsel filed separate personal
injury and class action lawsuits against
Medtronic.
May 16, 2008
"Heart Device Patients Often Unaware of Recalls"
May 7, 2008
"Medtronic
to Cut About 1,100 Jobs"
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Abstract: Defibrillator
Leads: Is Smaller Better?
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| [The following is an abstract
of an October 31, 2006 article entitled "Defibrillator
Leads: Is Smaller Necessarily Better?" from
Cornell University] |
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| 2006 |
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| Mirchandani, Sunil [Reprint Author, Author];
Stein, Kenneth M; Markowitz, Steven M; Iwai,
Sei; Shah, Bindi K; Cheung, Jim W; Tan, Vivian
R; Dhruvakumar, Sandhya; Dobesh, David P;
Nemirovsky, Dmitry; Lerman, Bruce B; Mittal,
Suneet | Circulation, 2006; 114 |
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| Background: The diameter of ICD leads has
become progressively smaller over time. Smaller
leads may allow for easier passage into the
right ventricle (RV), increased compatibility
with systems incorporating multiple leads,
and improved durability. However, the long-term
performance characteristics of these smaller
leads are unknown. Methods: The Medtronic
Sprint Fidelis family of ICD leads (models
6931 and 6949) has a 6.6 Fr caliber and is
the first generation of defibrillator leads
capable of passing through a 7 Fir sheath.
The lead provides true bipolar sensing and
has an active fixation mechanism. |
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| We evaluated consecutive patients (pts)
who underwent implantation of a Fidelis lead
(between 9/04-10/05) to determine the incidence
of abnormal sensing (R wave <= 5 mV) during
follow-up as well as the need for a lead
revision in these pts. Results: The study
consisted of 185 pts (133M, age 65 +/- 16
years) with a mean EF of 32 +/- 10 %. At
ICD implantation, 8 (4%) pts were pacemaker
(PPM) dependent. In the remaining 177 pts,
the mean R wave was 13.0 +/- 6.2 mV, as measured
through the Medtronic PSA. Nine (5%) pts
were subsequently lost to follow-up. In the
remaining 168 non-PPM dependent pts with
follow-up, initial ICD interrogation occurred
at a median of 6 (1,12) days post-ICD implantation.
The mean R wave at follow-up was significantly
lower than at implant (9.9 +/- 5.0 mV, p < 0.001). |
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| A decrease in the R wave (range: 0.1-16.9
mV drop) was observed in 129 (71%) pts at
first follow-up. A R wave : 5 mV was observed
in 29 (17%) study pts. In addition, 7 (4%)
pts required a RV lead revision within the
first 8 weeks of implant due to abnormal
RV sensing and an elevated RV pacing threshold.
Conclusions: A 17% incidence of abnormal
RV sensing was observed during follow-up
of pts implanted with the Medtronic Sprint
Fidelis ICD lead. This necessitated an early
revision of the system in 4% of pts. Whether
this problem is related specifically to the
design of this particular lead or is a limitation
of smaller defibrillator leads in general
is unknown. |
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About Lieff Cabraser |
Founded in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is
an over fifty attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco, New
York and Nashville. For the last five years, the National
Law Journal has recognized Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiff law firms
in America. |
To learn more about the advantages our lawyers
offer clients in personal injury and wrongful death cases, click
here. |
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