Lead / Pacemaker Removal

Hi.. Newbie here.. I'm 45 years old. I have had a pacemaker since 1994. That's when the original leads, (which are still in place) were installed. I am on my 3rd pacemaker at this time and have run into complications. This one has been in since April 2004. It seems that when my Dr. installed the pacemaker, no one ever checked it thoroughly after implantation. somehow a lead fractured and it never came out of discovery mode. This means my pacemaker has not been working properly for two years. Dr.'s never caught the fact that the lead was broken. (it had to have happened within 30 min. after implant) Anyway.. no my NEW Dr. says they want to extract the old leads (17 years old) and remove the pacemaker. Then they are going to install a defibrillator/pacemaker. I'm a little apprehensive about the lead extraction, although I know the technology is really good right now. Any thoughts on having this done? Any info on defib's?? Never had a defib. before.. only pm's..

1 Comments

extraction

by Tracey_E - 2011-09-06 05:09:24

If you do a search of the old posts, you'll find quite a few answers to your questions about extractions. It's come a LONG way in the last few years, more drs who are very experienced at it and better lasers. Make sure the dr who does it does at least 100 per year.

Defib, they are larger than a pm and the batteries don't tend to last as long as pm batteries. Why do they want to switch?

Good luck!

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