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Balzs Imre Bodai, MD; Charles B. Walton, MD
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Sacramento University of California School of Medicine Davis

Raymond Leung, MD
University of California School of Medicine Davis

J. Philip Smith, MD
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Vallejo, Calif

Gopal Newmana, MD
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Sacramento, Calif

JAMA. 1986;255(22):3115.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Rupture of pacemaker batteries is rare. Mercury-zinc batteries, used to power early pacemakers, have largely been replaced because their warranties lasted only three years. We believe ours is the first reported case of spontaneous rupture of an implanted mercury-zinc pacemaker battery.

Report of a Case.—

A 62-year-old man who had a ventricular-inhibited demand pacemaker placed in August 1978 for complete heart block arrived at the emergency department complaining of sudden swelling and pain over the pacemaker site. At 2 AM the patient was awakened by what he described as an "explosion" in his chest. Physical examination showed an elderly man in mild distress. His vital signs were normal except for a temperature of 38 °C (101 °F). The pacemaker site was swollen and erythematous, and the overlying skin was warm. Physical examination showed no other remarkable findings. A chest x-ray film showed fragments outside the epoxy casing . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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