Cardiac pacemakers and electrocautery in ophthalmic surgery

The aging of the population and our ability to care for a patient with increasingly complex disease suggest that we will be caring for many more patients with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Using surgical diathermy or electrocautery on these patientscan present the additional risk of electrical interference and appropriate precautions need to be considered. We summarise the different type of pacemakers and electrocautery, and how electrocautery can interfere with such devices. We discuss the relevant issues that should be considered when these patients undergo assessment for surgery and their intra- and post-operative management, including the use of magnets.