Under the Pectoral Muscle Placement

I am 74 years old and had to have a pacemaker put in in October 2007. I noticed that one edge of the pacemaker was protruding near my armpit around Decmber of 2007. When I finally saw my cardiologist in February of 2008 he advised that I see the surgeon who implanted the PM. On March 14,2008 the same surgeon said that it had shifted and he operated and placed it more towards the center of my body. It moved again and is still protruding. I am 5'2" and weigh 123 lbs and do not have much fat tissue above my breast. I have now seen a EP and he recommends it be placed under the pectoral muscle. What are the risks involved in having the PM placed under the muscle?? Would appreciate some comments.

2 Comments

PM Placement

by ela-girl - 2008-05-19 08:05:07

Hello, ejenn!

I am 30 years old and have had my pm almost 2 years now. My pm was implanted beneath the muscle and into the breast tissue to make it less apparent. The pm is also inside it's own little pocket and sewn down, too, which means it's not going anywhere! I'm also small (5'2" and 102 lbs) like you.

I don't know about risks, but it may take a little extra time to heal since it requires the muscle healing, too. I didn't need any pain meds after surgery, just ice for the site!

Best of luck!
ela-girl

Suturing it in place

by ElectricFrank - 2008-05-20 01:05:35

You might ask the doc whether it was sutured in place. As ela-girl mentioned they are normally attached to tissue in the pocket. The implant instructions for my Medtronic pacer specifically call for it. There is no way a sutured pacer could move without tearing out the stitches, which would be painful.

You didn't mention how much it protrudes. I have very little fat on the part of my chest just under the clavicle and mine is very obvious. If I reach across with my left arm it will rear up a bit, but lays back down as soon as I stop the movement.

frank

You know you're wired when...

You always have something close to your heart.

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In fact after the final "tweaks" of my pacemaker programming at the one year check up it is working so well that I forget I have it.