Key result
VNS implantation in a pacemaker-dependent patient raises surgical safety concerns regarding electromagnetic interference.
Why the study?
The safety of combined treatment with a vagal nerve stimulator and a cardiac pacemaker in epilepsy patients after post-ictal cardiac arrest is uncertain.
Case Report (n=1)
Seizure-induced AV block in refractory TLE may prompt pacing; leaves open safety of combined VNS and pacemaker.
In this case report we present a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) showing partial complex seizures and secondary generalization, and treated with several antiepileptic drugs. After two consecutive seizures she had an episode of cardiac arrest followed by AV-block III which led to the implantation of a cardiac pacemaker. She subsequently received a vagal nerve stimulator because of poor response to epilepsy treatment. Combined treatment with two different electromagnetic stimulators raises the question of safety during surgery which is discussed.
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Cáceres et al. (2008) conducted a case report in Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with cardiac pacemaker (n=1). Vagal nerve stimulator was evaluated on Safety during surgery with combined electromagnetic stimulators. Implantation of a vagal nerve stimulator in a patient with a pre-existing cardiac pacemaker raises questions regarding the safety of combined electromagnetic stimulators during surgery.
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