R arm and chest lymphedema. ? pacemaker on left?

My mother, who is 78 and a 2 time breast cancer survivor, is needing to have a pacemaker. Her first radical mastectomy was before age 50 and on the left side. She has never had any problems with lymphedema on that side, then 15 years later she get a different (less aggresive) cancer and decides to have a radical mastecomy on the R as well. This time she has had lots of problems with the R side of her neck, chest, arm and hand swelling terribly. They have not been a normal size since her surgery over 10 years ago. She now is having periods where her heart is stopping for 3 sec at a time and is
blacking out and has fallen several times. They want to put in a pacemaker but with the risk of infection it will have to be put on the left side of her chest. Has anyone had any experience with this or if you have any helpful information or suggestions they would be most appreciated.

4 Comments

pm

by butfreddy - 2010-01-12 07:01:57

It does not seem like she has much of a choice with her heart stopping like that and blacking out When your heart stops like that your brain is not getting oxygen.What if it doesn't start up. Find a great Dr and hospitable and put your trust in God I hope your Mom will be fine let us know what is going on

plastic surgeon?

by Tracey_E - 2010-01-12 08:01:04

Is getting a plastic surgeon to assist an option? I don't know anything about mastectomies or what they'd have to work with but the pm can go anywhere on the chest. Most are placed just under the collarbone, it's shallow and has the lowest risk of infection. Left side is considered preferable to the right side because the leads have to go a shorter distance.

Mine is inserted from the side of my chest (about where the underwire of my bra hits) and is placed under the breast. It was put there for cosmetic reasons because I was young and underweight when I got my first pm. My dr called in a plastic surgeon to help.

Another option is the abdomen, though that's unusual for adults. It's more common with children who are too small to have it on the chest but it's worth discussing with the surgeon to see which will be most comfortable for her.

If her heart is stopping and she's passing out, a pm is the right thing to do.

My very best wishes for your mom. She sounds like a real fighter!

Photo Location

by J.B. - 2010-01-12 09:01:06

I failed to say where you can find the photos. In the upper left hand corner of the PM Club home page under Club house is there Member Gallery. Click on that.

Mother's Pacemaker

by J.B. - 2010-01-12 09:01:24

If you haven't seen a pacemaker implant site and would like to, take a look at the PM Club photo gallery. Several people have posted pictures of their implant site. I can recall two I looked at recently, wrholder and maryanne. Wrholder's is on the left side and MaryAnne's is one the right side. In Addison you can get a look at MaryAnne's bypass surgery scar. If you haven't seen one of the sites, looking at these may give you a better understanding of what your mother would be experiencing.

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Member Quotes

Pacemakers are very reliable devices.