CHENNAI: Doctors at Apollo Hospital successfully removed a pacemaker from a 72-year-old man from Jharkhand using laser technology recently. Explaining the interventional procedure on Friday, Dr A M Karthigesan, interventional cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Apollo Hospitals said, the patient came presented with complaints of infection due to the pacemaker, which was implanted on the right side, in 2015. There was swelling and pus formation in the site after over a year of implanting the pacemaker, said Dr Karthigesan.
Yearly 60,000 pacemakers are implanted in India, 60% of patients might develop an infection after a year, and 40% of patients develop it within three months. There are 250 implantable devices in the body. The foreign body should be removed once infection occurs as no antibiotics will help. If left in the body for long, there are chances of infection spreading in the blood, said Dr Karthigesan.
The patient said, after the infection, a fresh pacemaker was implanted on the left side of the heart. Doctors in Kolkata tried to remove the infected pacemakers unsuccessfully. They couldn’t remove the wires completely and the problem persisted for years. Removing the machine becomes difficult as tissue grows on the wire, passing a laser through the site will clear the tissues thus making it easy for the doctors to remove the wires. This will reduce hospital stay and also will help to heal the wound quickly, said Dr Karthigesan. Dr R K Venkatasalam, Director Medical Services, Apollo Hospitals also spoke at the press meet.