Patient was educated on precautions to take when going into a surgery with pacemaker as follows:
- Check with your doctor regarding your safety with procedures that use electromagnetic currents for therapy, such as, diathermy, MRI, and electro convulsive therapy (ECT).
- If you are having a surgical procedure performed, inform your surgeon that you have a pacemaker well before the operation.
- Also, ask your cardiologist’s advice on whether anything special should be done prior to and during the surgery, as the electrocautery device that controls bleeding may interfere with the pacemaker.
Sometimes the pacemaker’s programming will be temporarily changed (using a magnet) during the surgery to minimize the possibility of interference from the electrocautery.
