Has someone else experience this?

I have a question...my mom has had her pacemaker for almost 4 weeks now...she has some pain in her left hand and her middle finger is a little bit swollen...she called the doctor and he said it was normal...has this happened to anyone else in their recovery stage?

4 Comments

???

by pete - 2009-07-30 02:07:40

I have not come across this. So I dont think its normal. Did they put anything other than a cannular in her arm, for example a catheter through a vien in to her heart? If so that would explain it. Cheers Peter

Normal??

by Pookie - 2009-07-30 06:07:23

Sorry, but it's my opinion that you need a 2nd opinion from another doctor.

I totally agree with COBradyBunch....an ultrasound would be my first request.

I've never heard of a doctor saying a swollen finger (on the same side of the pacer) is normal.

Think about it for 2 seconds: if your mom never had this prior to the pacer and now she has it....then it must be due to the surgery.

Pookie

swelling

by Hot Heart - 2009-07-30 07:07:34

Hi there, this could just be because she isnt using her arm very much, if you dont lift your arm you can often get swollen fingers. Get her to do some hand clasping exercises and moving her arm up and down, not stretching her arm up though because of the leads, see if this helps.

HH

Swelling in the left arm....

by COBradyBunch - 2009-07-30 09:07:24

When I was experiencing pain that was spreading from my incision site after my implant one thing the doc wanted to rule out was a DVT (clot). He said that because he saw NO swelling in my left arm he didn't think that was a problem but if I had had swelling in my left arm he would have been much more concerned. Even so he had an ultrasound done to rule it out so if that swelling gets worse I would definitely let the doc know about it.

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Pacemakers are very reliable devices.