Pacemake & Punchered lung

I had a pacemaker put in this week due to a flat lining EKG. It was a very painful procedure and I felt like the air was heavy right away after the procedure. The next morning I had a X-ray to check the leads and the discovered that my left lung was collapsed due to the lung being punchered. They then put a chest tube in that was very painful as well. The next day I had another X-ray and come to find out they had the line to that kinked and the air pocket was worse. Eight hours later the tube was removed and they said I should mend on my own and the lung is now inflated again.When I was discharged they gave me no follow up information on recovery from the lung issues or even spoke of the mistake. I still hear a sloshing sound in my chest d when I move around. MY questions are first what to expect for recovery and future issues with this lung and second who is responsible for all the extra hospital charges due to their mistakes?
Thank you.

5 Comments

So sorry

by Grateful Heart - 2014-02-16 11:02:39

You had to go through all of that.

Most hospitals have a Patient Advocate, I would start there. I learned about them the hard way when a hospital missed the fluid around my heart, sent me home and then adding insult to injury, they sent me a co-pay bill. Nothing compared to what you have gone through.

She was very nice and very helpful. After speaking to the Advocate and after she looked into it, reviewed the records and spoke to the Doctor, they took the bill back.

You can also google patient advocate to learn more about their role.

Hope you feel better,

Grateful Heart

Another thought

by Grateful Heart - 2014-02-16 12:02:10

I would follow up with a Pulmonary Specialist for your lung.

Good luck,

Grateful Heart

pacemaker

by Mrskiddo - 2014-02-16 12:02:17

Thank you. This was helpful.

Sorry you had to go through that

by Theknotguy - 2014-02-16 12:02:52

Sorry you had to go through that. Punctured lungs are no fun as I had one too. Mine was due to CPR. Taking out the chest tube was no fun either. Anyway....

You will want to do mild upper body exercises for the first four weeks. That's because of the leads going into the vein. Walking is good anytime. It gets everything working. So walking is one exercise you can do to help the lung(s).

The sloshing sounds will go away as you start to do more exercising. Mostly it's fluid build up because you can't take a full breath. As you start exercising, the fluid will get blown out. However, it you start to run a fever, you'll need to get to the ER right away. You don't want a fast onset of pneumonia.

I was fortunate enough to get cardiac rehab. The treadmill, and stationary bicycle helped with the heart and collapsed lung. I was also able to get physical therapy on my right shoulder which was banged up during the CPR. So they're having me do shoulder exercises. Those have helped with the collapsed lung too.

At first, it was real hard to get a full breath on the collapsed lung side. But as I started moving and exercising more, that feeling of not being able to get a full breath has gone away. Not as fast as I'd like, but the unable-to-breath sensations started going away.

They were still picking up "crackling" noises from the collapsed lung at 120 days so it does take a while for the lung to come back up to full speed. You may not have that problem as your lung wasn't collapsed for as long as mine nor did you have a broken and cracked rib. So you may heal faster.

I've actually had more problems with the broken rib, cracked rib, and the chest tube wound than the lung.

For the chest tube wound, they have a pulley system that allows me to stretch the arm upwards on the non PM side which was the side of my collapsed lung. That really stretches out the chest tube wound and helps me do deeper breathing. If your collapsed lung was on the PM side, there are other exercises you can do to stretch out the chest tube wound and expand the lung. The patient advocate at the hospital can suggest therapy places to help you.

I told the doctor who removed my chest tube that I'd always remember him - but not fondly. Dag-gone did that hurt. But hey! I'm still alive to complain about it.

Hope things start going better for you.

Theknotguy

x-ray findings.

by Mrskiddo - 2014-03-07 11:03:03

Pace maker still hurts after 3.5 weeks installed. Why would they have put so much extra line coiled up in my chest? Don't make sense. The pacemaker pinches my collar bone and shoulder and awakes me at night in pain. Anybody else have this issue?

You know you're wired when...

You always have something close to your heart.

Member Quotes

I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.