Pacemaker Club: Increased ICD tenderness: Call the MD or am I worry wart?

Increased ICD tenderness: Call the MD or am I worry wart?

by Pinkit94
2017-08-29 22:10:15
General Posting
1067 views
2 comments

Hello everyone,

I am only 22, almost 23, and I had dual chamber ICD implanted due to severe bradycardia and Brugada. On June, 27, 2017, I had my ICD replaced due to a lead fractures. For last 2 weeks or so I have had an increased tenderness and a burning sensation (it feels like chaffing/irritation) only on one side of the incision. There is no swelling, fever or any other symptoms. Also, I recently had blood work done for unrelated reason and my white blood count is normal(elevated white blood count can indicate an infection). At first, I thought the area is just irritated from the seatbelt or just more sensitive due to the scar tissue from the prior ICD but I never had this with my first ICD and I am slightly concerned. I don't want to be rushing to the MD if this is normal part of healing. Advice? Did anyone else had something similar? Should I call the MD or am I worry wart? Thanks in advance!

2 Comments

when in doubt, call

by Tracey_E - 2017-08-30 09:20:08

Increased tenderness isn't normal. Did you do something new to aggravate it, maybe returning to the gym or a sport? If you can't connect it to anything, I'd give them a call. It's a great sign that your WBC is normal but even if there's the tiniest chance it's the start of an infection, I'd be jumping all over it just in case. The sooner it's diagnosed and treated correctly, the less the chance the whole thing has to come out. It's nothing to mess around with.

call

by The real Patch - 2017-08-30 12:17:56

The description is exactly how I felt when my infection started. Look in the members images and see the pretty end results. Anyway by all means call the surgeon who performed the work and as a minimum keep close eye on the situation. The sooner they catch any infection the better chance of resolving it before the worst happens. I had a very small hole open up on the end of the incision and a tiny "pimple" next to it.

Good luck