Dinosaur leads need removed.

Original PM implant was 1989. Been limping along with bad lead for several years   I have lost a significant amount of weight and PM flops around in my chest.  I often feel like my pericardial region is irritated and inflamed.  Also feel like I have lots of past scar tissue.  Anyone want to chime in and give this newbie your experiences?

4 Comments

What's wrong with the lead?

by heckboy - 2020-02-01 11:53:04

This sounds terrible. Leads are much better now than then... are you going to get it replaced? How old is your current PM? I hope you get this resolved soon.

Leads

by doublehorn48 - 2020-02-01 12:26:46

I had my leads removed and repaced in 2017 at the Cleveland Clinic .  Dr. Bruce Wilkoff preformed the surgery.  The Cleveland Clinic is rated the top heart hospital.  Dr. Wilkoff has done thousands of procedures.  

removal

by Tracey_E - 2020-02-02 09:25:44

If you search "extraction" you'll find quite a few posts describing the procedure and recovery. You'll want someone highly specialized, such as Cleveland Clinic. Mine are a little newer than yours, 1994, and still working but I've already discussed extraction with my ep so I know what to expect when the time comes. His team does a lot of extractions but he plans to send me to another hospital to see a colleague who sees more high risk patients. Risk isn't necessarily the age of the leads, it's more the position, the scar tissue around them, and the condition of the heart.  

Mine could not be removed

by Lady Lee - 2020-02-08 21:30:27

I just had my 5th pm was referred to a Dr who specializes in lead removal as the lead was not it's best. Was told they were not removed because the cat scan showed lots of scar tissue they put the pm with old lead that seems to work but apparently needs a higher voltage I'm hoping the lead works until the pm reaches end of life in about 9 years. I worry about this sometimes

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