Chronically implantable medical devices configured for extraction and extraction devices for extracting chronically implanted medical devices

An implantable medical device (IMD) configured for deployment within a chamber of a patient's heart, the chamber including a chamber wall, the IMD comprising:

• a housing configured to be positioned within the chamber of the patient's heart proximate the chamber wall once the IMD is implanted, the housing extending from a distal end to a proximal end;
• a power source disposed within the housing;
• circuitry disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the power source;
• an electrode fixed relative to the housing and positioned to contact the chamber wall once the IMD is implanted, the circuitry configured to pace the patient's heart via the electrode;
• a fixation element for extending into the chamber wall at the implantation site to fix the IMD relative to the chamber wall at the implantation site, the fixation element disposed at or near the distal end of the housing;
• a retrieval feature for retrieving the IMD after implantation, the retrieval feature disposed at or near the proximal end of the housing;
• and
• the retrieval feature including an ablating region that is operatively coupled to the circuitry, wherein the circuitry is configured to selectively provide sufficient energy from the power source to the ablating region to cause tissue proximate the retrieval feature to ablate and to expose the IMD to a surrounding blood pool.