Movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease are increasingly treated with deep brain stimulators. Being implanted in a subcutaneous pocket in the chest region, thoracic surgical procedures can interfere with such devices, as they are sensible to external electromagnetic forces. Monopolar electrocautery can lead to dysfunction of the device or damage of the brain tissue caused by heat. We report a series of 3 patients with deep brain stimulators who underwent thoracic surgery. By turning off the deep brain stimulators before surgery and avoiding the use of monopolar cautery, electromagnetic interactions were avoided in all patients.
Keywords: Deep brain stimulator; Electrocautery; Implanted electrical device; Parkinson’s disease; Thoracic surgery.
© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.