External pacemaker wires

[FranR]

Hi...I'm brand new to the site so please bear with me if I "mess up." I have a question for any of you out there who have had an external pacemaker attached temporarily after surgery. I had a mitral valve repair in 2002 and had an external pacemaker for a few days. I don't remember how many wires were holding it in place but one of the wires wouldn't "pull" out so it was snipped. I can feel this as a small lump under my left breast (not on my breast). It occasionally pokes me as well. Has anybody else had this experience? My surgeon said at the time that the 'pacing wire' would dettach itself but it hasn't so far. It doesn't really bother me that much, and besides the "lovely" scars it reminds me of the whole surreal heart surgery experience, but I'm not sure if I should seek removal or not. Any helpful comments would be appreciated. Thanks so much. Fran

 

[geebee]

Fran,

Welcome to VR.com.

I think an external pacemaker is automatic for OHS as I had one for each of my three surgeries. In my case, the wires were all pulled so I cannot personally address the problem you are having.

However, OHS is supposed to make our lives better. If you have anything, even something small, that causes you discomfort, you should research options of eliminating that discomfort. I would at least look into having the wire removed.

 

[FranR]

External Pacemaker Wires

External Pacemaker Wires

Wow, I guess this isn't a very common problem as I have only gotten one reply. I was really hoping many, many people would tell me they had the same thing and I shouldn't worry because it will correct itself. The thought of more surgery is something I don't want to think about! If anyone else has had a similar experience, please, please reply. Thank you all so much. Fran

 

[mntbiker]

Fran, Don't worry, the weekends around here are usually slow. Apparently most people wait until they go to work to check the forum.

 

[KathyH]

Hi,
Welcome! Don't worry, you can't mess up. This site has alot of great members who can try to answer your questions or offer support.
I too had a pacer wire that got stuck and they were unable to pull it out. I had an aneurysm repair too, so they didn't want to pull to much. They sniped the wire off just below the skin. I haven't noticed any lumps or anything. I would ask your surgeon about it and see what he says. I really don't think they would try to remove it at this point unless it was causing a problem.
Kathy H.

 

[Cris N]

Fran,
My wires were pulled so I can't really help with your situation. I would suspect, though, that if a trimming is in order we're probably not talking about major surgery. I would think that a wayward pacing wire could be corrected fairly easily. Like any other health concern, I would call the dr and tell him/her that it's bothering you and needs some attention.

Welcome to the site, hope you stick around to share your experiences. Be sure to let us know the outcome of your wire. I'm sure this has happened will happen to others.

Cris

 

[KMB]

Pain from the wires

Pain from the wires

Fran
I am in the same boat as you. They did not pull out my pacer wires after surgery. I was having a lot of pain even 2-3 months after surgery and went back to my surgoen and he said if they still hurt in 2 more months they would pull them out. He said they would do it in day surgery. He told me that scar tissue should build up and I should not be able to feel it any more. The pain did go away for a while, but about 3 weeks ago I think one of the wires shifted, because I am in pain again. Every time I bend over, I can't help but yell out because the pain is bad. I go back to my cardiologist next month and I will ask her now what I need to do. I am dreading going in to have them taken out, but don't want to have this pain for the rest of my life.
Kris

 

[Birky]

Wires

Wires

I was having surgery in October and had a chest xray. The report comes back as there is a surgical clip and pacing wire still in there. Does anyone know if this something I should talk to the Dr. about ? I haven't had any problems and did have some sternum wires taken out 6 mos after surgery. They really did an extensive studying and comparisons of all chest xrays since they found a benign nodule. I was really surprised when I saw this on the report and it was not mentioned before. Why would these be left in there?

 

[The Bionic Duo]

I had a thread about this a while back when Bob had a couple of pace wires pop through his chest. You may want to read through this. http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10725

So far he hasn't had any more trouble with the pace wires, even though their still there, just shorter than before.

Joan

 

[Jamboesque]

I had an interesting situation, one pacer line came out OK, by the head nurse in the unit. The other got stuck.

Que Cardiac surgeon on his ward round,

'I would look the other way for a minute sir.'

Felt him kneel on the bed at my shoulder, grabbed the wire, wrapping round his not inconsiderable fist.

'Take a deep breath and hold steady'

He pulls and the wire exists my chest in a rush. 'That's that then, no other problems? Fine, OK!'

I think it was a surgeon, but might have been a rugby second row forward (Think Linebacker size of guy).

Never had a problem since, even the scars are hardly noticable unlike the main one.

 

[FranR]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my question about pacing wire pain. Sorry I didn't reply sooner...holidays and all. Plus my son was home (he's a West Point cadet) so life was busy. Getting back to my original problem about my wires poking me, ironically it's stopped. This seems to be a pattern with me though. It will hurt me for a while and then it will stop again. I guess it must shift around. I can feel a small lump, which I suppose is scar tissue, so I'm reluctant to have anything done to remove the wires. I will talk to my cardio about it when I see him in 6 months. But honestly I'd rather live with a small amount of discomfort than have even a minor surgery. I'm sure most of you can relate. Thanks Joan for the thread you posted that talked about my problem...it helped to read what others had to say. And Kris good luck to you...I hope you can get your problem taken care of without too much trouble. Let me know what happens - I'll use you as a guinea pig. Take care all and Happy New Year.
Fran

 

[carista]

I'm suprised to hear that some doctors leave the pacer wires in. They didn't seem to care how stuck or painful mine was, they definately took that sucker out. I remember everyone saying how the chest tubes were painful, they were no big deal for me. However the pacer wires, that was a whole different story...ouch. But I'm glad now that they did take them out after hearing that sometimes they're kept in. Either way, if it were me and they were bothering me I would definately talk to the doctor and get them taken out.

Carista