title: Delayed development of foreign body granuloma from an implanted permanent cardiac pacemaker.
abstract: We report a case of a late-developing cutaneous mass on the chest wall that proved to be non-specific mixed cell granuloma adjacent to the lead-electrode parts of a permanent cardiac-pacemaker that had been implanted in the left chest of an 81-year-old man 6 years previously. The lesion was treated by cardiac surgeons, whose management consisted of cutting only the intradermal part of the lead-electrodes followed by tissue curettage, leaving the other portion embedded in the subendocardium because its removal could cause serious complications. Dermatologists should be alert to such late complications of embedded permanent pacemakers. Their removal requires close cooperation with cardiac surgeons to avoid unexpected complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Tanawatt
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kootiratrakarn
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Hachiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tagami
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015745:Granuloma, Foreign-Body / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*