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Extraction and replacement
- by Tinkergirl
- 2020-06-16 22:02:48
- Complications
- 1012 views
- 2 comments
I am having surgery next week to have my whole pacemaker taken out and a new one put in. I am very nervous as I have read taking the wires out of my veins can be dangerous. My pacemaker has been in for 5 years. Has anyone on here had this surgery?
2 Comments
Lead removal
by Tinkergirl - 2020-06-17 20:15:02
Crustyg,
Yes I am getting the whole system removed and replaced, leads and wires. My top lead is dislodged and turned off right now and my bottom lead is pulled back about an inch with no slack. They have concluded that when my top lead fell it caused my TIA. So yep the new one is going to be MRI compatible as this is the second time my PM caused a TIA, the first one was real minor, but this one was a dozzie. I still have a little bit of a stutter from it.
Hopefully this surgery will go good and uneventfull!!!!
You know you're wired when...
Your kids call you Cyborg.
Member Quotes
Hi, I am 47 and have had a pacemaker for 7 months and Im doing great with it.
You having the leads removed too?
by crustyg - 2020-06-17 18:29:32
Replacing a PM implanted in 2014 is usually a pretty straightforward procedure - small skin incision under local, remove old PM, connect up new PM, put in new anchor stitch and close skin. Doesn't need the leads into your heart to be removed/replaced unless you know that they are faulty/broken/not MRI compatible.
You are correct that lead removal is not trivial, requires specialist equipment and should only be done by a centre that does hundreds per year. But it's increasingly commonplace and routine and low-risk in the right hands.
But you don't need leads replacing for a PM box change.
[Added later] Should have read some of your other posts before commenting: sounds as though at least one lead has dislodged, so perhaps you are having both replaced (perhaps for an MRI compatible setup). Given your description of what sounds like a TIA, perhaps this is a good move - but the comments above still apply - lead removal is not for the occasional 'I'll have a go' team. It requires a lot of experience and specialist equipment.