Pacemakers and laser eye surgery

I need a laser eye procedure for corneal dystrophy and I have a pacemaker.  The eye surgeon will not do any surgery because of the pacemaker.  My eye Dr. suggested a corneal transplant.  The eye surgeon disagrees with the corneal transplant as treatment.

Can the pacemaker be turned off for the procedure and turned back on after surgery?  I am independent and still driving.  Need to do all I can to keep my independence.

Any thoughts???  and thanks.

4 Comments

My suggestion......

by Pookie - 2012-06-20 10:06:00

perhaps you should discuss this with your cardiologist and see what he has to say and then get he/she to discuss it with both your eye doctor and the eye surgeon.

Pookie

Thank you

by 7laafvga - 2012-06-21 08:06:05

Thank you, Frank and Don. You give me hope. My "gut" says do not stop with one doctor, one dx, one narrow mind.
Thanks for the input.
Janis

Not Again!

by donr - 2012-06-21 12:06:09

I had a laser treatment for an eye problem that I cannot name, mainly because it was so long ago that I've forgotten it. No big deal - just sat down in front of the laser & got my corneal yellow film fried. Took all of 5 minutes. FWIW, it was a YAG laser.

IIRC, there are NO magnets in a laser - everything is run by intense light, which requires a power supply, but it is shielded for everyone's protection.

FWIW, I went through radiation therapy for prostates cancer in a room w/ an X-Ray source so powerful that it had a door several feet thick. The walls were likewise feet thick to protect the world outside. There was a very large radio frequency generator to create pulses to generate, accelerate & guide the beam of electrons through a wave guide that ran right over my head.

I had zero problems w/ the PM & the equipment in the room.

Pls ask the various misguided egos what there is about the laser that makes it dangerous to your PM. I'll betcha they cannot do anything but mumble. Tell them that an electrical engineer w/ a PM doubts their concerns.

Don

Laser Pacer Interference

by ElectricFrank - 2012-06-21 12:06:36

I have had a number of laser treatments for floaters, which use the same laser only a different lens. No problem at all. The laser emits a light beam which can't affect the pacer. The electronics of any modern laser is well shielded in the instrument.

You might contact the manufacturer of your pacer and ask. You may also need to find a different eye doc.

frank

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