Lead Replacement

I am a 42 year old female. As a child I had 2 open heart surgeries at the age of 2 & 5 and a pacemaker put in at age 7. This was implanted in my stomach and I actually had to charge the unit weekly by plugging myself in. This one lasted till I was 17 and it was replaced with a new single wire lead. The PM was implanted into my breast tissue and it is a great location. No problems and it cannot be seen whatsoever.

I am now on my 6th pacemaker and I am due to have it replaced April 15, 2011 along with a lead extraction and replacement using laser. All of my replacements have been very easy and back to work the next day.  I don’t think this will be the case this time as I have told a much longer recovery. To say the least, I am very scared this time. Anybody have this done?

Update:  I had my 7th pacemaker replacement in May 2022. Went perfect with no change of leads. I had mine done at Shands Hospital in Gainsville FL. I cannot say enough good things about that hospital.

 

5 Comments

I have a lead replacement but

by janetinak - 2011-04-02 03:04:29

it was done after the 1st PM was in only about 2.5 yrs so no laser needed. There has been some discussion on this site aboout this topic & until others with more experience can respond you can go up to top right of the page & put in "Lead Replacements" under search & will pull up the comments. Hope this helps. And I know you will get a lot of good comments here soon.

Janet

Re: Lead replacement

by br3500 - 2011-04-06 03:04:01

I have had my PM in the breast tissue (they cut under the breast on the crease) since I was 17. It has never bothered me nor can I even feel it or the lead. I would recommend this location to any female. I have never had it above the breast like most people and never had the discomfort they experience. It will be my 5th one and I have been back to work the next day with no problems or pain. It is just hard to find a doctor that will do it.

Lead Replacement

by ohbubbles - 2011-04-06 03:04:08

I'd say that it depends on the skill of your dr. I'm about your age and have had 5 replacments so far....with and without lead replacments. Seems that most dr'.s leave the old (dual) leads in and run new ones......wonder how well that will work when we're old. I'm due for replacement soon and am considering your location in the breast tissue (in the hope that it will be more comfortable).

I'm curious how well the laser works -- sounds like a great idea. Good Luck!!

yes i have been there

by fojimo - 2011-04-14 01:04:26

Hi, I completely understand your fears and concerns. I just had my 6th Pacemaker replaced and 5 leads extracted at age 49. I came across this site just prior to my surgery and some of the posts frightened the heck out of me while others calmed my nerves. The best advice I got here was to find out how many extractions your surgeon does each year, Anything over 100 is desired. I was very fortunate to have one that does close to 300. He is top 3 in the nation. This was very fortunate as I had 5 very tangled leads which were fractured to pieces. This is not typical and was complicated even for my surgeon and I made it thru just fine. You will too. Your recovery time will definately be longer. Probably 2-3 weeks. My surgery was March 8 and I have not been released for work yet. Again not typical. My job requires very heavy lifting so I don't get to go back just yet. You have god on your side. He has been watching over you since you were a baby and is watching over you still. I know your afraid but be assured this is more common now than ever and pretty much routine as a root canal. I have had both. The root canal hurt more. lol. I will be thinking of you friday and sending good thoughts and prayers your way. I'm right here if you need to talk or ask questions. Take care and god bless.
Renee

Update

by br3500 - 2011-04-17 01:04:22

Well, I just got home today from my new PM surgery and new leads. My surgery went great and my Doctor is fantastic. As I stated in my first post, my PM is located under the breast tissue. Surgery went well and instead of doing a lead extraction, my doctor decided to abandon and cap the lead and insert the new ones next to the old. My old lead was a unipolar (single lead) and was 25 years old. He stated that due to the age, too many complications could result from extracting it. He stated that they develop scare tissue along with calcium buildup around the lead. I was very happy with that decision. My surgery was at 2pm, lasted about 45 min, 1 hour in recovery and overnight in the cardiac step down unit. I was discharged at 10 the next day. I have some slight discomfort in the chest area from the tunneling of the leads but the end result is worth it. No one would ever know I have a PM. I feel great and keep having to remind myself that I just had surgery yesterday. I have a Medtronics PM with a double lead now. The hospital staff was great. I highly recommend my doctor for any female wanting the PM implanted in the breast. If you want additional info on the doctor, message me and I will be more than happy to pass him name along.

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I, too, am feeling tons better since my implant.