Pacemaker Surgery

Placement of a pacemaker requires minor surgery. Anti-anxiety medications and local anesthesia are normally given to patient to make the procedure as comfortable as possible.

First, the doctor places a needle in a large vein, usually near the shoulder opposite the patient's dominant hand. The doctor then uses the needle to thread the pacemaker wires into a vein and to the correct location in the heart.

An x-ray "movie" of the wires as they pass through the vein and into the heart helps the doctor places the wires. Once the wires are in place, the doctor makes a small cut into the skin of the chest or abdomen. He or she will then slip the pacemaker generator/battery box through the cut, place it just under the skin, and connect it to the wires that lead to the heart. Once the pacemaker is in place, the doctor sews up the cut. The entire surgery takes a few hours.