Thiruvananthapuram: Capsule-size pacemaker saves 72-year-old’s life

Thiruvananthapuram: The doctors at KIMS Health has successfully planted a capsule-size pacemaker in the heart of a 72-year-old patient in a rare medical procedure. The doctors found the state-of-the-art device to be the ideal option, considering the woman’s advancing age and enabling her to be discharged without the necessary long stay after surgery.

“Usually, attaching the usual pacemaker requires a major cut beneath the ribcage. The device is comparatively big, and carries its cables called leads that are fixed to the right ventricle,” said KIMS Health’s consultant cardiologist Dr Praveen S V, who carried out the procedure.

In the case of the leadless pacemaker, doctors made use of a vein along the patient’s leg by opening it with a needle and sending it up the body to be deposited in the heart. The patient was discharged after 24 hours of observation.