Within hours after the launch of leadless pacemakers in India, Aster Medcity doctors have successfully performed one of the first synchronized leadless pacemaker procedures of the country. The special MICRA A-V Leadless Pacemaker was implanted in 63-year-old Divakaran, a native of Kaipamangalam in Thrissur district, on Monday night in a non-surgical procedure.
Divakaran had undergone a pacemaker procedure using the normal pacemaker with two wires connecting the heart four years ago in another hospital when he was found to have low pulse rate. One of the wires broke after a year by crushing against the bones. Though the fractured wire was replaced, the second wire also got crushed. The pacemaker, which was fixed under the skin near the shoulder, also started coming outside the skin. The patient was then admitted in Aster Medcity.
When doctors at Aster Medcity informed him about the new leadless pacemaker, Divakaran agreed to implant the same in him. The leadless pacemaker was implanted after removing the old pacemaker and wires. The leadless pacemaker was implanted by a medical team led by Dr. Praveen Sreekumar, Consultant, Cardiac Electro Physiology and Dr. Anil Kumar, Senior Consultant, Interventional Cardiology, through a normal angiography procedure.
“Surgery is not required for implanting the leadless pacemakers. We implanted the leadless pacemaker in the patient’s heart with the help of normal angiography procedure. The normal pacemaker increases the beat of only the lower chamber of the heart. However, the leadless pacemaker helps to increase the beat of both the upper and lower chambers of the heart as it is fixed inside the heart,” said Dr. Anil Kumar. Dr. Praveen Sreekumar said that the procedure lasted only 45 minutes and the patient walked back to his bed after the same.
