Open Heart Surgery And Pacemakers

With OHS, after you get out of surgery you're hooked up with quite a few tubes and wires. One of the connections is a set of pacemaker wires that the surgeon puts in during surgery.

Here's an explanation of why patients undergoing open heart surgery require temporary pacemaker wires inserted during surgery:

After heart surgery or another life-threatening event involving the heart, it may be necessary to put in a temporary pacemaker to make your heart beat at a normal rate...One type of temporary pacemaker may be attached to the patient's heart during heart surgery. This type has wires which go from the heart through an incision in the lower chest to an external box that makes the heart beat normally.

As I understand it, while the wires are present after OHS, a pacemaker may not be needed if the heart beats regularly and the wires may be removed at some point during recovery, or a permanent pacemaker may be needed.