The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 51, 225-226, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Electrocautery does not interfere with the function of the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator
JH Wilson, S Lattner, R Jacob and R Stewart
Department of Cardiology, Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220.
The automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) manufactured by
Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc, contains an automatic sensitivity adjustment. We
tested whether this feature would prevent sensing of signals generated by
electrocautery by implanting three different models of the AICD in 4
mongrel dogs. Unipolar electrocautery was applied at maximum output to a
site close to the rate-sensing leads. The devices were monitored with an
AICD-check probe and by auditory monitoring of QRS synchronous tones. No
sensing of the electrocautery by the device occurred. Three patients with
two different AICD models (1550 and 1520) underwent five surgical
procedures in which electrocautery was used. No sensing of electrocautery
signals, device charging, or other device malfunction occurred.