Pacemaker Club: Battery golf ball

Battery golf ball

by jennk
2019-04-28 15:58:48
Complications
1036 views
3 comments

Help, please. I had my battery replaced sub pectoral in October. Everything has been well since healing until this week. Felt a minor shift but then nothing on Thursday. Today, out of the blue, the device popped out of my chest bigger than a golf ball. After about two minutes it went back in and is now just swollen and sore at the site. Anyone have this happen and what do I do??

3 Comments

Have it checked out!

by RedRocksGirl - 2019-04-28 19:34:51

I had my first ICD placed this past January. Mine was subpectoral as well. About two months in I started having some new pain and could feel the edge of it poking out below my armpit. Long story short 3 weeks ago I went back to the surgeon who did the original implantation and he said it was no longer where he placed it. We confirmed it with an x-ray. (I have the x-ray posted on this Pacemaker Club site in the photo gallery.) That week it was moving all over in my muscle. Sometimes over to the side, sometimes way down at the bottom of my breast. He determined that the suture that was holding it in place had broken and I had to go back in and have him retireve the device, and put it up higher on my chest - below the collarbone where it seems most people have them.

Definitely have it checked out. I have to say this recovery has been WAY easier and less painful than when he put it subpectorally.

Thanks

by jennk - 2019-04-28 21:11:53

They are sending me to my cardiologist tomorrow. X-ray showed it did a 180 degree flip. Leads and pacing fine, but it definitely is not where it was. I asked to have it moved sub pectoral because my first one that was above the muscle was up higher and I couldn’t put my arm above my head and it constantly hit my collar bone. I do not want another surgery, but this was bizarre. They were glad it didn’t break through the skin. Really?

Surgery

by jennk - 2019-04-29 16:03:04

if this happens to you, when you are in the ER, request they contact your surgeon. This would have saved me two days as now I am waiting to have surgery.