Images
in Cardiology
Images edited by James Hill, MDA Rare Case of Pacemaker Electrode
Perforation of the Heart With
Intra-Abdominal Migration
Tal H¨orer, MD; M ˚arten Vidlund, MD; Peter Lindell, MD; Kjell Jansson, MD, PhD
¨
Orebro University Hospital, Department of General Surgery (H¨orer, Jansson), Sweden; ¨Orebro University Hospital, Department of Thorax Surgery (Vidlund), Sweden; ¨Orebro University Hospital, Department of Cardiology (Lindell), Sweden
Address for correspondence: Tal H¨orer, MD
Department of general surgery ¨
Orebro University Hospital Sweden
talherer@yahoo.com
Perforation and migration of pacemaker electrodes into the abdominal cavity is a very rare event. A 67-year-old woman was admitted to our institute with a nonfunctioning 2 week old chamber DDD pacemaker (due to sick sinus syndrome) and a chest film showing the electrodes under the diaphragm (Figure 1). A CT scan revealed an intra-abdominal localization of the electrodes frontal to
Figure 1.
the left liver segment (Figure 2). The electrodes where withdrawn in the operating room without any complication, and the patient successfully received new pacemaker electrodes.
Figure 2.
Received: December 4, 2010
Accepted with revision: December 16, 2010
Clin. Cardiol. (in press)