needs a gold plated pacemaker

I am posting the following for a friend who is in the ICU, she just had her 3rd ablation and she is going in and out of her heart rate.  She has been passing out quite a few times and they need to put in a pacemaker but she is allergic to titanium and nickle and silcone, i guess she can get a special make pacer but it will take time and she has to get a pacemaker soon as she is going in and out of passing out.  Does anyone know of any kind to pacer that doesnt include the above metals, she is in a really bad shape.  The following is part of what she emailed to me, she is in a hospital in CA.

.'Excellent hospital tho. Problem is timing. I need a pacemaker but I’m allergic to titanium and silicone. To get a custom pacemaker takes 6 weeks of fda approval because it’s based on urgency. In the meantime I will get titanium with silicone covered leads. I have no choice.'

 

5 Comments

They should be able to pace her externally while she waits

by asully - 2021-04-28 01:47:15

I had an external pacer for 4 weeks before they put the final one in, I did have internal leads however.

We've seen a report here of at least one patient who had a coated PM

by crustyg - 2021-04-28 03:34:33

I'm fairly sure that I recall a posting here, within the last two years, of someone who had a coated PM implanted for the same titanium allergy.

I *think* that the PM vendors are the folk to organise this - the issue is keeping the unit clean and then sterilising it afterwards.  I don't know the facts, but imagine that they use ethylene oxide (can't autoclave or use radiation).

An EP-doc needs to contact the PM vendors and set this in motion.

As Asully says, external pacing while she waits is the answer: there's a lot of experience of keeping lines through the skin clean for long periods - think of the kids with Hickman lines who have them in for months.

IN the meantime?

by PacedNRunning - 2021-04-29 02:57:47

That's a drastic surgery to just get permanent PM then removed until the gold plated one comes in.  They would have to remove the whole system. Doesn't seem worth it.  Is she sure shes' allergic to titanium? Such an odd thing to be allergic to as we don't come in contact with titanium that much in our environment.  She should be allergy tested first.  Otherwise, she may need to stay in the hospital for 6 weeks. :( 

needs a gold plated pacemaker

by pogerm1 - 2021-04-30 17:40:08

Thank you for your  comments.  My friend had a pacemaker inserted a couple of days ago, her doctor said they would try it for the next 6 weeks until she got the new pacer.

She has told me that the pacer is running all the time, she still isnt feeling too good.  She had her 3rd. alblation about 10 days ago, and that is when she started having all kinds of problems of her heart going high than also going low where she passed out, so she now has the pacer but she still isnt feeling too well.

I have a pacer for the last 20 years and i never had any problems, of course, my situtation was different, I got episodes of AF and when going back into NSR I would almost black out, my heartrate dropped to almost a flatline.  My pacer stops that and i have been good ever since.

needs a gold plated pacemaker

by pogerm1 - 2021-04-30 18:05:37

My friend has told me that she has 42Junctional Rhythm, so i guess that is why the pacer.  We don't know if the ablations are responsible for all her troubles and if when she heals she will be OK.

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