Intensive care after breast cancer op

[jenkel]

My Mum is panicking and I’m trying to reassure her but not sure I am. Anyway she has a small breast cancer lump and is going into hospital next week to have it removed. She is 78 and also has a pacemaker, no other health issues. Anyway she has just been told today that she will be in intensive care after the op. And now she is seriously worried as we all are. I did say that I thought it would be more for monitoring, taking into her acct her age and the pacemaker, how normal is this. She is speaking to the consultant tomorrow, so usefully we would no more then.

I ended up in the burns unit after my MX & the nurses couldn't have been nicer.

It may just be availability or beds / staffing OR, as you said to give them the opportunity to monitor her more closely.

Wishing her the best of luck with it all.

didn't she ask why that was the plan when they told her? With all the usual caveats about medical advice on MN, if I were looking after someone with a pacemaker having breast surgery I'd be keen to have them in an area where their heart rhythm could be monitored closely (in HDU/ICU), especially if their underlying rhythm meant they were pacemaker dependent and the surgery was on the same side as the box, just in case the PPM decided to have a wobbly post op.

I'd say it's because of the pacemaker. My mother had mastectomy for breast cancer with no further treatment at a similar age, think 79, and she only remained on a normal ward for one night, home the next day.