Upper Lead came out 2x in a row

I've only had pacemaker 6 weeks as of this Thursday.

First Surgery Pacemaker had moved within 1/2 hr of surgery, taking the slack out. This was shown on x-ray, VA never told me and upper lead came out on day 5. The Electro Dr. was on vacation so Heart Surgeon did surgery. He never sutured the suture sleeves. So thought it was all him.

But now 2nd Surgery by Electro Dr. all went great he also Sutured around pacemaker, got lead into roof which 1st Dr. didn't. I go to 7 day follow up. X-Ray shows upper lead is out once again.

Has anyone heard of this? I was Extremely Careful 2nd time.

I do remember coughing 1st time right after surgery. I do have chest muscles, not large but do workout everyday and don't do weights. I have Asthma so do cough etc. Sleep Apnea etc etc.

Dr. is saying he just wants to take lead out and not replace. I would like to find someone who may know the cause. He thinks I may be tugging on it and I'm telling him no I don't. This lead is important for energy and recovery after workouts, Also will be more important as I age.

Please help if you can.

Thanks Jim

4 Comments

Lead displacement.

by Selwyn - 2014-05-20 01:05:33

Early displacements are more frequent than late displacements and they usually affect atrial leads. Acceptable displacement rates should probably be less than 1 percent for ventricular leads and no more than 2 to 3 percent for atrial leads.

I would suggest this is a medical problem. Normally the leads are placed against the heart muscle and then twisted to 'grab' the muscle. A slight tug would confirm that the lead is embedded. The lead needs to be the right length to join the pacemaker box and have enough play to fully extend the arm. You really cannot pull this out yourself unless twiddling with the box.

Once the lead as been in for a few weeks there is a fibrous /scar reaction meaning that it is well and truly stuck.

In the course of my medical practice I have tried to remove pacemaker/ leads from the dead ( as the box blows up the crematorium) and it is extremely difficult!

leads

by Tracey_E - 2014-05-20 09:05:06

This is rare but not unheard of. Suturing the pm in place is good, but unrelated to the leads staying in place. Sometimes the lead wasn't in a good spot because of dr error or the shape of our heart or our veins or sometimes it's just bad luck. When it comes out a second time, it may be the heart muscle itself. There are two types of leads- barb and screw. If one doesn't stay in after a second try, it's common to try again with the other type of lead. Most people do ok when they try another type of lead.

Coughing will not dislodge a lead. It's unlikely it was anything you did. After the first 24 hours, the limitations they give us are just precaution.

Thank You Tracey

by Jim1958 - 2014-05-20 12:05:38

Thanks and Yes the 2nd Dr. did Suture the pacemaker in place. I will let them know when I go to my appt. today. I've asked they try one more time. Yesterday I know Dr. had said he wanted to just take lead out and not replace.

New Lead Failure

by donb - 2014-05-21 11:05:09

I had my atrial lead fail on my 5th pacemaker replacement.I noticed after leaving recovery while on a monitor in my room that my HR held at a steady 50. This continued for the next month & when I had my Medtronic tech check up I asked if possibly my low setting was set at 50 rather than60 which has been my normal. He just discounted the issue & said i'm doing "fine" & my low setting was 60. Well, I was not fine even with blood work & lab tests showed normal but my site was infected, leads were infected and I went to our University hospital. They clearly showed my doing interogation that my atrial lead was not sensing, Hence the low HR. As it turned out pacemaker and leads were removed followed by IV antibiotics for 7 weeks with my 6th pacemaker & new leads in another site,
like abdomen. The mistake I made was trusting the Medtronic tech as I knew my replacement pacemaker was not keeping my heart at the low setting of 60 from the first hour of implant.
DonB

You know you're wired when...

You can shop longer than the Energizer Bunny.

Member Quotes

I wasn't really self-conscious about it. I didn't even know I had one until around six or seven years old. I just thought I had a rock in my side.