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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Are Risks Of Changing Pace Maker At Old Age?

My father is 95 and good physical health. His cardiologist wants to replace his pacemaker....he doesn't have any symptoms but he has had the pacemaker 5 yrs+ What are the risks for this surgery at age 95 and is it absolutely necessary. Or do the risks out weigh any benefit?
Wed, 27 Aug 2014
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Pacemaker replacement is a common and frequent operation done by cardiology. In this case you father may not need the pacemaker leads changed he may just need the battery changed or the device upgraded. This would be a straight forward outpatient procedure with low risk. As with any procedure there is the risk of infection, bleeding or failure of the equipment but those are rare. Since the pacemaker device and its battery are just under the skin in the upper chest there is little danger of major complication. I would think risks DO NOT outweigh benefits. At 95 it sounds like he is doing quite well.
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What Are Risks Of Changing Pace Maker At Old Age?

Pacemaker replacement is a common and frequent operation done by cardiology. In this case you father may not need the pacemaker leads changed he may just need the battery changed or the device upgraded. This would be a straight forward outpatient procedure with low risk. As with any procedure there is the risk of infection, bleeding or failure of the equipment but those are rare. Since the pacemaker device and its battery are just under the skin in the upper chest there is little danger of major complication. I would think risks DO NOT outweigh benefits. At 95 it sounds like he is doing quite well.