Lead replacement

Hello everyone,

I have my pacemaker inserted December 2015 when I was 21. I have had problems since I was 15 having cardioversions and ablations. I was told 6 months or so after my surgery that I was having a lead malfuntion, it is getting interference and skipping part of the process, my pacemaker works about 40% of the time now. I just recently moved and the new doctor wants to take it out and replaced it. I have been told that I have scar tissue on my heart already and quite a bit. I never got a good explanaion about where or why it is there and what happens with it. I also wanted to know the healing process. This is my first time on one of these sites. I do my own research but its not helping. If you have any opinions or answers I would greatly appreciate it. I'm sorry this is a book.  Thank you!

 

2 Comments

replacing leads

by Tracey_E - 2017-12-13 09:27:11

When they replace the leads, they can sometimes add a new one, other times they prefer to remove what's there and start fresh. Given your age, starting fresh is a good choice because you have a lot of years of pacing ahead of you. 

Extraction is the name of the surgery to remove. There are many, many discussions about that here if you use the search bar. 

Scar tissue can be from the leads or the ablations. I switched to a more specialized adult congenital ep last year and he had an interesting insight on scar tissue. He said it actually makes the extraction easier because the heart is tougher. Someone with minimal scar tissue, who has never had a heart surgery, is a higher risk when they extract. 

Extraction has come a long way from even just a few years ago. They use a laser sheath and go mm by mm to remove the lead from the scar tissue. The lasers have gotten better, the number of experienced surgeons has increased. That's all good news for us! You want someone very experienced doing this, preferably someone who does at least 100 a year. This may mean traveling to get it done. In addition to asking how many they do in a year, also ask how many times they've needed the cardiothoracic team. They always have one on standby when they extract because if something goes wrong, this is the team that will jump in and take over. This goes back to the first question, the more experienced your team, the less chance of needing the back up team. 

As for healing, you can get first hand accounts in some of the other posts. I haven't had it yet myself, but it's in my future so I stay on top of it and have discussed it with my doctor. You'll get new leads and a new device so same restrictions as the first implant. They go in through the groin same as an ablation. I believe most go home the next day so it's just one night in the hospital. 

Lead replacement

by islandgirl - 2017-12-14 15:15:05

I had the ventricular lead changed/upgraded when I had to change from a pm to an ICD.  They did not go through the groin.  I was kept in overnight and I remember soreness in my chest.  I live aobut 2 hours so my EP always keeps me at least overnight for anything such as ablations.  Yes, make sure the EP is experienced at removing leads.   It added about an hour to the box change.  

You know you're wired when...

Born to be Wired is your theme song.

Member Quotes

A lot of people are and live normal lives with no problems whatsoever.