This is extremely Post Op

[Mike]

When I was discharged from the hospital 5.5 years ago following double valve replacement they cut the wires of my temporary pacemaker off at my skin and told me that they would just pull back inside, which they did. I hadn't thought anything about those wires until today. A couple of days ago I noticed a small pimple like bump on my chest and I tried to just leave it alone. This morning in the shower I saw, to my horror, a piece of wire nearly an inch long sticking out of that spot. I pulled out 7.5 inches of blue insulated wire. It came out like hot buttered spaghetti. I had no discomfort at all and have felt well all day--just slightly grossed out! Has this happened to anyone else?

Mike

 

[Philip B]

Wires?

Wires?

I've never heard of simply cutting off the temporary pacemaker wires, but others may know more than I do. I would think it's a more common practice to remove the wires for a temporary pacemaker.

I think they usually pull the wires out. Having mine pulled was one of those traumatic hospital experiences I remember very well. It felt like my heart was being janked out. My response was to take a swing at the nurse who did the pulling. The nurse showed me the heart contact ends after she was done. The contacts had little tiny hooks. She said the hooks were the reason pulling the wires caused so much discomfort.

Hope they removed your chest tubes rather than leaving those things in there.

-Philip

 

[Ross]

Can't say that I've heard of anyone pulling their own, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's happened.

 

[JimL]

Thanks for sharing, Mike. I remember my wires coming out only because it was a student who removed them, none too gently. Having the catheter out was much, much, much, much worse. It occurs to me, though, that there were two wires, weren't there? Does that mean you still have another wire in there somewhere?

 

[Mike]

I guess there are probably 2 wires. Let's hope the other one stays put!

 

[Woodbutcher]

Eek ! They pulled mine out a couple of days after the operation, I remember it felt very strange... Not as nasty as the two long drain tubes or indeed that one down there .... Ouuuuuch ! That really did make my eyes water ! Heart surgery aint for the faint hearted !!
That's a grisly tale indeed Philip, but I'm glad all's well that ends well...

 

[Bina]

Somebody on VR has mentioned before that their wires were cut, but I can't remember who else it was.....
A few days postop mine were pulled out by a resident Doc, it wasn't pleasant, but not too horrific either.
The pulling of the single large drain tube was another story. He warned me, then yanked it, and I yelled ! Then I told him how he was darn lucky that he was so good looking cuz I came real close to punching him in the face.
Mike, can u ask for an x-ray to see what is going on in there?

 

[Adrienne]

Somebody on VR has mentioned before that their wires were cut, but I can't remember who else it was.....
A few days postop mine were pulled out by a resident Doc, it wasn't pleasant, but not too horrific either.
The pulling of the single large drain tube was another story. He warned me, then yanked it, and I yelled ! Then I told him how he was darn lucky that he was so good looking cuz I came real close to punching him in the face.
Mike, can u ask for an x-ray to see what is going on in there?

It must have been me. One of mine was too hard to pull out. Two nurses tried. They said that when that happens, it is much safter to just snip it off and leave it.

However, I've never heard of anyone pulling their own wires out!!! I don't know if I would have tried. I've always heard that if you are ever impaled by anything, don't try to pull it out yourself. Go to emergeny.

 

[Luckyguy17]

this was all done just a few days ago for me so the process is clear as to how it is done at our cardiac ward.

drainage tubes came off about 36 hours post op, removed by the attending RN in step down (interim between ICU and regular room)...had 4 drainage tubes and this removal was likely the biggest major relief step for me!!! transfer to a regular room 1-2 hours later and from then on, life improved dramatically and rapidly
electric wires were left in at that time, with the explanation in case, i needed a restart or monitoring

my vitals measurements, were always quite consistent and never high, but BP and heart rate were lowered even more, with beta blocker aboout 3rd day post op
for me, electric wires were removed on the morning of hospital release (believe there were 2, although there are 4-5 marks left on skin?, so maybe more)
releasing RN, removed wires by pulling, it took moments and maybe 5-10 seconds of discomfort on what seemed a single deeply embedded wire (about 4-5 inches long),
process and feeling of wire removal was somewhat like 10 second segment of angiogram

Gil