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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Ever Heard of This Happening?
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic - Heart
Cleveland - OH
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Ever Heard of This Happening?
by Gerrydtc, Jun 15, 2009 12:08PM
Recently, my father underwent surgery to replace his pacemaker. The surgery was not successful because the tip of the tool used to remove the battery "broke off in the small screw". The surgeon had never encountered this problem. After making calls to the manufacturer, he decided to end the procedure for the time being and left the piece of tool inside. Now, the plan is to go back into surgery and "crack the casing of the pacemaker" so that they are able to get to the hardware and replace the battery. If this does not work, they will need to perform a "lead revision". Please let me know if any of you have ever heard of this problem and please lend any advice. We are very concern about the possiblility of "lead revision"
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Jun 21, 2009 03:27PM
, Jun 21, 2009 03:27PM
Yes it sometimes can occur, and if the tool required to drill out the screw is not available then the procedure is usually aborted. Lead revision is something that is best performed in tertiary referral centers, where a lead is extracted using specific tools and a new lead is placed in its stead. It is usually done in cases of lead malfunction or infection. It has certain risks, including death or need for open heart surgery as the leads are quite often fibrosed to the side of the vessel wall.
