Massachusetts woman gets breakthrough life-changing pacemaker at Tufts in Boston
Tufts Medical Center patient becomes first in Massachusetts to receive dual wireless pacemaker
Tufts Medical Center patient becomes first in Massachusetts to receive dual wireless pacemaker
Tufts Medical Center patient becomes first in Massachusetts to receive dual wireless pacemaker
Karen Pekowitz is no stranger to exam rooms or hospitals. The Wellesley, Massachusetts mom and teacher was diagnosed with a heart condition in college and had a pacemaker implanted when she was just 19 years old.
She's had several surgeries since — some risky — to remove old wires or replace batteries. But this day is different. On this day, she's making history.
Last week, Pekowitz became the first person in Massachusetts to have a dual, wireless pacemaker — two tiny devices keeping her heart in sync. No wires. And, if successful, no more surgeries for almost a decade. Just as important, she has more energy for her own kids and the young students she teaches.
"They need me to be able to get up and down off the rug with them when they're doing they're work," Pekowitz told us before the procedure. "They need me to be able to move around to the different classrooms."
The United States Food and Drug Administration just granted approval to the world's first dual-chamber wireless -- or leadless -- pacemaker this past July. Tufts Medical Center was the first in Massachusetts to implant the system.
Only WCVB was allowed inside the operating room as Dr. Guy Rozen, the co-director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, and a team from device creator Abbott executed this breakthrough procedure. First, they carefully scanned Pekowitz's heart to determine the exact spot where the new pacemaker will be implanted in the wall of the upper chamber.
Then they use a specialized catheter — inserted through her groin and threaded into her heart. No surgical incision, no scarring. Rozen zeros in on the spot they targeted and carefully attaches the device with a few turns of the catheter.
When they sync the two pacemakers and test them, even better news: the team finds a strong connection without using much power in either device.
"The less strong the signal you need to generate the communication, the longer the battery will last," Rozen explained.
With that, the procedure is deemed a success and the catheter is removed.
Afterward, Rozen told us this move away from traditional pacemakers — and the wires and complicated surgeries that come with them — is nothing short of life-changing.
"Being able to do those procedures minimally invasive with the significantly lower risk for those complications over time, this is something that is a great advancement in our field," he said.
The next day, Pekowitz was back home in Wellesley and said she already felt a difference. She was already looking forward to a very different future.
"I can get myself in much better shape, and I can just have the energy I need to keep up with my children," she said. "I just want to be available for my students and sort of set a role model to them of being brave in the face of this type of experience. You can turn it into a positive and embrace the new technology even if it's scary."