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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 38, 616-618, Copyright © 1991 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

ARTICLES

Electrocautery-induced pacemaker malfunction during surgery

D Mangar, GM Atlas and PB Kane
Department of Anesthesiology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa 33612-4799.

We report a case of electrocautery-induced pacemaker failure that resulted in asystole in a 15-year-old girl scheduled for cardiac surgery. Her pacemaker was converted to the asynchronous mode the night before surgery. Electromagnetic interference from the unipolar electrocautery caused a reduction in the battery voltage, which allowed the digital circuitry, but not the voltage control oscillator (VCO), to work properly. Eventually the battery current drain caused VCO "lock-out," and pacemaker and battery failure. This report demonstrates that electrocautery-induced pacemaker failure can occur, even after conversion to asynchronous mode.


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Copyright © 1991 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.