Answer:
A pacemaker is a device used to keep control of heart rhythm and rate, if the heart cannot control its own rate or rhythm adequately. Many infants and children experience temporary problems with their heart rate or rhythm in the early period after surgery. Therefore a temporary pacemaker is usually attached for a few days.
The pacemaker wires (which connect the device to the heart) are sewn to the outside of the heart at the time of an operation and emerge through the skin to be attached to the pacemaker, which remains outside the body. These wires will be removed after a few days, when the heart rhythm is normal and the child is recovering. The wires can be pulled out without reopening the wound and this does not damage the heart.
In a few children there may be a need to fit a permanent pacemaker. This is connected to the heart with one or two wires (a much longer lasting equivalent of the pacemaker wires referred to above).
The wires may be introduced either through a vein (and then attached to the inside of the heart), or at an operation (if they need to be connected to the outside of the heart). The pacemaker itself varies in size from a very tiny unit (the size of a twenty cent coin), which can be used for small babies, up to something more like a small pocket watch. The device may be placed under the skin in the upper abdomen or in front of an armpit.
The batteries in these pacemakers last for many years. The pacemaker, its wires and battery all need to be checked regularly (normally every six months) at an outpatient appointment. They will need to be surgically replaced if faulty.
The pacemaker wires (which connect the device to the heart) are sewn to the outside of the heart at the time of an operation and emerge through the skin to be attached to the pacemaker, which remains outside the body. These wires will be removed after a few days, when the heart rhythm is normal and the child is recovering. The wires can be pulled out without reopening the wound and this does not damage the heart.
In a few children there may be a need to fit a permanent pacemaker. This is connected to the heart with one or two wires (a much longer lasting equivalent of the pacemaker wires referred to above).
The wires may be introduced either through a vein (and then attached to the inside of the heart), or at an operation (if they need to be connected to the outside of the heart). The pacemaker itself varies in size from a very tiny unit (the size of a twenty cent coin), which can be used for small babies, up to something more like a small pocket watch. The device may be placed under the skin in the upper abdomen or in front of an armpit.
The batteries in these pacemakers last for many years. The pacemaker, its wires and battery all need to be checked regularly (normally every six months) at an outpatient appointment. They will need to be surgically replaced if faulty.
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