[Exit block: a postoperative complication of pacemaker implantation (author's transl)]

Exit block occurs in 7% of cases following implantation of a pacemaker for the first time and appears to be a serious and unpredictable occurrence which cannot be prevented by the selection of a particular technique or type of electrode of pacemaker. Therapeutic measures in patients who are not dependent on a pacemaker consist primarily of exchanging the intracardial lead. In all patients, as well as in those cases with recurrence of exit block, a pulse width-adjustable pulse generator should be implanted without resorting to other methods of questionable efficacy. The implantation of such a pulse generator was successful in all our cases.