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A tangled affair: pacemaker malfunction and syncope in a child due to Twiddler's syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2007

Alexander R. Ellis ,
John H. Reed  and
David Fairbrother
Alexander R. Ellis
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
John H. Reed
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
David Fairbrother
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Children's Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
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Abstract

Manipulation of an implanted pacemaker by the patient is a rare cause of malfunction, especially in children. We describe a child who inadvertently rotated his pacemaker under the skin, knotting the leads and dislodging them from the heart, leading to syncope and heart block. Our experience with this case underscores the need to consider this diagnosis in children as well as in adults if this problem is to be averted.

Keywords

Childrenimplanted devicemanipulation
Type
Brief Report
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 220 - 222
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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