Volume 73 Number 6 October 2006	back to contents

1Resident, and 2Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, and 3Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY.

Address all correspondence to Steven M. Neustein, M.D., Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Box 1010, The Mount Sinai Hospital, One East 100th Street, New York, NY 10029.

Accepted for publication January 2006.

Abstract

It is well known that the use of electrocautery during surgery can interfere with the functioning of pacemakers. The most common problem is that the electrocautery is interpreted by the pacemaker as cardiac electrical activity, which inhibits the pacemaker from firing, leading to bradycardia. The use of electrocautery in a site remote from the pacemaker generator normally does not cause interference. It is also very unusual to develop a tachycardic response to the electrocautery. We report a case of electrocautery causing rapid pacing during transurethral resection of bladder polyps. The possible causes of inappropriate rapid pacing are reviewed.

Key Words

Pacemakers, tachycardia, electrocautery, electromagnetic interference.

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