got the wires wrong!

My mum had her pacemaker fitted 3 weeks ago and felt really rough the first week.  On the second week she was starting to feel better but was having dizzy spells.  She told the nurse who gave her a heart monitor to wear for 3 days and it picked up pauses on her heart.

Turns out they never put the wires on right and it could have caused her to have a heart attack.  Well this morning she had to have it all done again just as her wound was getting better.  I am so angry with the doctor who messed it up the first time.  The lady that fitted it today passed comments about it, not directly, but she wasn’t impressed by how the first one was fitted.

Anyone else had to go through this ordeal?  I am just praying they did it right this second time because I don’t think she could handle going through that again!!

5 Comments

What an awful thing to happen!

by SaraTB - 2011-04-04 10:04:15

Hi cazz - got your messages. I'm so sorry your mum had to go through this. I can understand your anger and frustration, but hopefully this will now solve all her difficulties - sounds like the new doctor will be supportive, knowing what happened before.
Please wish your mum well from us here, and let us know how she feels as she recovers.
Sorry I can't answer your question about whether anyone else had such an experience - but maybe someone else will chime in.

Best wishes.

lead revision

by Tracey_E - 2011-04-05 07:04:43

Was it not done correctly the first time, or did the leads become dislodged? Sometimes they don't stay put and it's not anyone's fault. The heart is a moving, working muscle, it doesn't stay still for them to attach the leads and once they're attached it takes a few weeks for the scar tissue to grow around them enough to hold them in place. That's why we have lifting and arm movement restrictions as we heal, to give the leads time to settle in. Most of the time they stay where they're anchored, but it's not unheard of for them to come loose and need to be repositioned. They would have checked it when she was still in the operating room to be sure it was working, then again before she was released so it's likely it was working at that time or they would have caught it right away. I don't know all the details so I'm just guessing here, but it's more likely they were in place but got dislodged rather than it wasn't done correctly the first time. I'm sorry your mum had to go through this, hopefully this will take care of it and she can start healing.

my heart goes out to you

by kcruz - 2011-04-05 11:04:08

Cazz: I am so sorry your mom had to go through this. I had this happen to me and to put it bluntly was really ticked. I had to have an up grade from a dual pacer to a Bi V device and all was well for the first 3 weeks than I started having issue and was blown off, long story short another doc saw me in the ER and came to the conclusion that my leads were transposed, meaning they hooked me up back wards.

Yes

by jlo - 2011-04-05 11:04:23

Hello cazz, yes, the same thing happened to me. I had to have mine redone 8 weeks later, and although it was tested in the operating room and appeared to be working fine, one of the leads became displaced. I am sure your mother was as crushed as i was to have to go through all that again, and i understand your concern about it being right this time, i feel the same, my replacement was done 4 weeks ago. I am hoping that everything is fine when i go to get it checked next week. One thing i can say though, I was having a really hard time coming to terms with the whole pacemaker thing, very depressed, but since the second surgery, I am resigned to it, I guess there is an upside to every downside. Give your mom my regards, hang in there, and try not to get stressed, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THE HEART YOU KNOW!

thanks every1

by cazz1 - 2011-04-20 11:04:10

update shes been out of hospital after getting it done a second time,shes feeling her heart flutter a lot is that normal. it flutters stops and starts again a few times a day. shes taking longer to recover this time and is due up the hospital next week to see if its settling.

You know you're wired when...

You have a little piece of high-tech in your chest.

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