pacemaker and lead extraction

Hi everyone

Just wondering if anyone has have a complete removal of a pacemaker and leads, I am in the process of a test of my pacemaker being set at 30 with the objective of accessing whether I need a pacemaker. if it turns out ok then the complete removal of pacemaker and both leads. The pacemaker is currently 11 years and 7 months which is nearing the end of battery life. I have had a successful ablation 6 years ago - however I now need a MRI scan as it is possible that I have MS, I have not known of anyone have a removal for this reason - My doc seams happy to do this procedure, the plan is to complete in the next few months. Would like to hear from anyone that has had this done.

5 Comments

Hi Pauline..................

by Tattoo Man - 2014-07-14 04:07:03


.....................Sparrow is right ..I had a successful removal and RH replacement in Jan 2013, here in the UK.. No problems at all...back running after two weeks.

'Search' is a very good way of getting a wide range of peoples experiences.

It might sound daft but checking out what your Doctors experience is re PM removal is worth asking about.

Keep us up to date...I'm sure it'll be just fine.

Tattoo Man

hey

by karankathuria - 2014-07-17 01:07:40

hii

FDA method of removal

by montanacby - 2014-08-01 01:08:47

A couple of years ago I wanted my latent leads removed. This is normally not done because of the risks. But a method approved by the FDA allows the easy and safe removal of leads. I had the extraction done and the Nashville Heart Institute. At the time they were the only one that did this. Though the extraction went great the jerks put in my new pacer incorrectly, did a septal punch, and 3 days later then I got home in Montana, I had strokes. I had to have emergency open heart to remove all the goods and the leads and have them replaced with another unit and leads, and sew up the atrial septum. But the procedure is a nonevasive and there is no open Heart required with this method.

Just got rewired

by RhythmicMan - 2014-08-10 02:08:57

My own recent experience getting "rewired" a month ago is a bit different than what you are looking at with full removal and a life sans pacemaker, but I can tell you from the bit of research I performed that it is worth checking on how many of these your doctor has done and whether any of his/her patients fell into the 1% who suffer a bad result, i.e. a tear in the vein or heart during the removal procedure that requires quick action by an on-call cardiac surgeon (cardiologists aren't chest splitters). My doctor told me that the 1% are usually high risk very old patients in bad health. But, nonetheless, it is not a procedure without risk, so you should go into it with all your questions answered. By the way, I believe I have read on this forum that there is a procedure for doing an MRI on a patient with a pacemaker, which seems hard to believe given the high power magnetism involved in an MRI. But worth checking that out with your doctors. I wish you well with the procedure if you go that way, and hope that the MS issue turns out to be a misdiagnosis. Either way, with or without a pacemaker, with or without MS, I wish you a happy and long life!

Just got rewired

by Good Dog - 2014-09-04 12:09:40

Great comment..........I totally agree!

You know you're wired when...

You’re officially battery-operated.

Member Quotes

A pacemaker completely solved my problem. In fact, it was implanted just 7 weeks ago and I ran a race today, placed first in my age group.