Marietta, Georgia - Pacemakers are hugely beneficial for heart patients, but they're generally not safe for use in MRI machines, and that can limit treatment for a host of problems. A new MRI safe pacemaker may change all of that.
"We've been excited and waiting on something like this for patients for literally years," said Dr. Narendra Kanuru, Kennestone Hospital.
The pacemaker looks just like the old one.
"This is the old standard pacemaker, and this is the new MRI safe pacemaker. The reality is in terms of size and weight and shape, they're virtually identical," said Dr. Kanuru.
"The new Revo MRI SureScan pacemaker allows patients to be able to have an MRI done, an important test in detecting a number of issues such as cancer, such as neurologic events like stroke, or things like spine imaging for people who have got things like pinched nerves, disk and back problems," Kanuru said.
It takes about 45 minutes to implant. Doctors place the device near the chest and then attach it to the heart. The patient was upbeat even on the operating table, joking with the doctor not to leave any of his heart out and even asked about his favorite pastime.
"He asked about swimming, and whether he can swim. Generally we allow our patients to have unrestricted activity including swimming, golfing, playing tennis, or weightlifting for that matter in about a month or so," said Dr. Kanuru.
