Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Wednesday I saw the electrophysiologist my cardiologist had referred me to, the one who's something like head of the entire department at Johns Hopkins, and yes, he did manage to convince me that I should go ahead and get another defibrillator/pacemaker. If they can't get the third lead in, he promises that they won't spend a couple extra hours poking around; instead, they'll close it up as is, and then in December, after all my holiday concert obligations are over, I'll go back in for a separate procedure for a mini-thoracotomy, where they sorta stretch the ribs apart and go plunk the lead down on the outside surface of the heart. But maybe, just maybe, they'll get the third lead in when they put the device in. We'll see. That surgery is September 11. They'll keep me overnight just for observation, although pacemakers can be outpatient surgery; just my history and stuff. So, more news on that as it happens.
