A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered device that uses electrical impulses to help the heart maintain a normal heart rhythm. It consists of a pulse generator and thin flexible wires called leads. The leads monitor the heart's rate and rhythm. Your pacemaker must be checked periodically. Leads can break, the insulation around them can crack or they can become infected. Infection is the most common reason a lead is replaced. This surgical procedure is called a lead extraction.
Instructions
1. Arrive at the hospital. You will be admitted and prepped for surgery. You will be given a hospital gown to wear and asked to remove your jewelry, glasses, dentures and hearing aids. A nurse will start an intravenous line.
2. Prior to surgery, you will be wheeled into the operating room. The anesthesiologist will administer general anesthesia.
3. The surgeon will make a small incision in the upper chest over the existing pacemaker. The pacemaker is implanted under the collarbone. The leads are threaded through a vein and attached to specific areas of the heart muscle and are attached to the pulse generator.
4. The surgeon will hook a special wire onto the inside of the lead, or place a snare through the vein and grasp the outside of the lead.
5. The surgeon will thread a plastic tube called a sheath around the lead and insert it through the vein into the heart muscle. The sheath has a laser that helps free the lead from scar tissue and prevents it from tearing the veins or heart.
6. The surgeon will pull the lead out of the heart and implant the new lead. If the old lead isn't infected, it may be left in and the new lead laid next to it.
Tags: surgeon will, through vein, heart muscle, pulse generator, surgery will