The Cureus Journal of Medical Science is proud to introduce the publishing competition on Strategies to Promote Long-Term Cardiac Implant Site Health.

Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) have become a vital standard of care for patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. However, the tremendous benefits of CIEDs need to be balanced against the long-term risks and challenges of living with a medical device implant. Moreover, as patient survival increases, device reoperations become ever more common (e.g. device replacements or upgrades, or lead replacements or revisions).

Technical advances do not negate the human body’s response to soft tissue foreign implants, which by nature invokes inflammation, fibrosis, and encapsulation. Potential other sequela include hematoma, seroma, or infection at implant site; allergic reaction to device materials; device erosion or migration; dense fibrous encapsulation/calcification surrounding device and leads at implant site; changes in device heat dissipation, electrical sensing, or defibrillation thresholds; and implant site discomfort or poor cosmesis.

With the goal to document challenges, share clinical knowledge and experiences, and ultimately improve patient outcomes, we invite original submissions (case reports/series, original articles, technical reports and review articles) that contribute to deeper understanding of implant site difficulties and sharing of procedural strategies to promote long-term implant site health. Submissions should focus on one or more of the following topics:

• Biologic Response to CIED Foreign Body Implants
  Clinical examples of typical implant site healing sequela which create challenges for reoperation or increased risks for long-term CIED treatment, including special populations such as high or low BMI patients, pediatric or elderly patients, and patients receiving S-ICDs.
   
• Strategies for Achieving Long-Term Predictable Outcomes for CIED Implant Sites
  Strategies and decision-making to: assess patient-specific CIED implant site needs, mitigate potential complications, and define the important elements for promoting optimal long-term surgical implant site and patient health.
   
• Surgical Techniques for CIED Implant Site Management
  Surgical technique(s) used at the time of CIED implantation that improve or enhance long-term health of the implant site and/or patient procedural satisfaction.

To foster educational awareness, our goal is to share the results with the cardiology community worldwide. To encourage dissemination, all published materials will be Open Access and indexed with PubMed Central. We encourage any surgeon or clinician in the cardiology community to contribute!

Program administration has been enabled through the financial support of Aziyo. Article selection, editorial review, peer review, publication and competition winner determination are strictly independent of the sponsor.