Ollerton pensioner receives pioneering leadless pacemaker
Ollerton man gets pioneering pacemaker at Sherwood Forest Hospitals
An Ollerton man has been given ‘a new lease of life’ after becoming the first patient at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust to receive a leadless pacemaker
Unlike a conventional pacemaker, which consists of a pulse generator implanted under the skin and leads that connect the device to the heart, a leadless pacemaker is a miniature device implanted directly inside the heart via a vein in the leg.
Robert Lee (81) underwent the procedure at King’s Mill Hospital in September fater suffering a stroke earlier in the year.
Dr Ifti Fazal, Consultant Cardiologist at the trust, said: “Introducing leadless pacemaker technology allows us to offer eligible patients another option for managing slow heart rhythms which offers greater comfort and freedom of movement because there is no device implanted beneath the skin.”
The introduction of this technology represents an important advancement in cardiac care and in the development of the Trust’s pacing and device service providing selected patients with an alternative that completely eliminates the need for a traditional chest incision and pacing leads.
Health chiefs say leadless pacemakers are not suitable for everyone and patients will be assessed individually by the cardiology team to determine the most appropriate type of pacemaker.