pacemaker removal

Has anyone had a pacemaker lead removed or replaced? My husband is 33 and has had his pacer for 18 months and already has broken a lead. He has a single lead pacer and is told now that after having an ablation the pacer is not needed. Rather than replacing it we are having it removed.

7 Comments

Lead removal

by janetinak - 2009-01-23 01:01:53

Good for you both if PM no longer needed. Hope that goes well. I had my 1st single ventricle lead removed after 3 years & replaced. My EP is very good & was able to pull it out under local & replace my 1st PM & lead with a new PM & lead. I am 100% dependent on PM after an AV ablation that was done in 2000. Sounds like your situation is that the ablation solved the problem & as you say PM may not be needed. Great news for you both.

leads

by Tracey_E - 2009-01-23 06:01:05

cristal, they can get a kink, usually as alaskan brat said by moving the wrong way and physically damaging it. It's not really common, but it's not rare either. I've had a damaged lead for about 5 years now and am still using it. The rep was able to adjust the settings so it's still working just fine. I know it'll eventually need replaced but for now it's doing its job.

gibbons01, wondering why they didn't do an ablation instead of pm in the first place if that would fix the problem... What condition does he have?

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A LEAD TO BREAK?

by cristalh - 2009-01-23 12:01:56

IM SORRY IM JUST NEW TO THIS I RECENTLY GOT A ICD/PM IMPLANT SO I DONT KNOW MUCH

Yes

by 1of4kids - 2009-01-24 09:01:12

The answer is yes, i had my pacer removed two months ago and am doing fine without it.

lead wire shut off

by katwats - 2009-02-06 12:02:51

my faulty lead wire was shut off instead of removed. I had over 20 shocks from it within six months. I used to see sparks coming from it. One time it went off while I was pumping gas. Sparks everywhere. Now they have my heart totally dependent on the defibrillator.

Lead removed

by stacey28 - 2009-02-14 10:02:45

I just recently had my one lead removed and since it had just been in for a year and a half they were able to extract it with out having to use the laser to get it out. I also had a new lead put in. Because your husband's lead has been in for 18 months they may have to use a laser to extract it or they can cap it off and if he needs a new lead put it in.
I hope that this information helps.

Stacey28

Thank you

by gibbons01 - 2009-02-28 12:02:19

Thank you all for the feedback and sharing. My husband had his pacer and lead successfully removed 2 days ago and is doing very well. His lead was fractured and was not working for 6 months or more, so removing it seemed like the right thing to do. We have a lot of confidence in the Doctor and believe that it will only get better from here.

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Member Quotes

I just want to share about the quality of life after my pacemaker, and hopefully increase awareness that lifestyles do not have to be drastically modified just because we are pacemaker recipients.