Ischemic mitral regurgitation: intraventricular papillary muscle imbrication without mitral ring during left ventricular restoration

The potential role of ventricular compressive therapy

Early infarct expansion is associated with progressive ventricular dilatation and contractile dysfunction, and heralds a poor long-term prognosis. The pathophysiology of ventricular remodeling leading to CHF is hypothesized to begin with infarct expansion, which causes increased stress in the myocardium adjacent to the infarct. Increased stress in normally perfused border zone myocardium results in the production of cytokines and ROS, which in turn stimulate myocyte apoptosis, disruption of the ECM, and fibrosis. The value of ventricular compressive therapy in established CHF with the Acorn CSD is unclear. Early clinical and laboratory studies indicate that the device can be placed safely using standard surgical techniques, and that constrictive physiology is surprisingly rare. In the few patients who have received the device, however, the clinical benefit has not been dramatic. A final assessment awaits a well-designed clinical trial comparing isolated CSD placement with optimal medical management, the primary end points being death or the need for organ replacement. In contrast, the value of early ventricular compressive therapy (ie, the prophylactic prevention of infarct expansion) has been demonstrated experimentally: early ventricular restraint dramatically ameliorates remodeling. This strategy probably represents the best application of ventricular compressive therapy. Future work must ascertain the best timing for such an intervention.

Surgical management of heart failure

This article introduces the mechanisms and theories behind the surgical treatments for heart failure; however, heart failure is a complex problem and requires multiple solutions. Surgery offers treatment strategies that target underlying physiologic changes and may provide both quality of life and survival benefit to patients who have specific clinical characteristics consistent with the aims of the procedure. Nurses must include surgical treatment early in their hierarchy of treatment plans, especially when coronary artery occlusion, hibernating myocardium, or mitral valve regurgitation is the cause of heart failure. In addition, newer investigational surgical therapies must also be considered for patients with advanced heart failure who have already been optimized on medical and cardiac resynchronization therapies and who require a novel approach to potentially improve individual outcomes.

Surgical methods to reverse left ventricular remodeling in congestive heart failure

In this review article, we describe the most common surgical procedures currently used to reverse or arrest remodeling of the left ventricle in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The selection of the appropriate operation in a patient is a complex decision-making process, rigorously based on pathophysiologic considerations. In this population, all factors affecting the surgical risk should be carefully evaluated preoperatively, and surgery should be recommended when definite benefits in survival and quality of life can be reasonably predicted. Quite often, patients with CHF require a combination of different procedures to address all the pathophysiologic components determining the clinical picture. In particular, in this review we describe the surgical restoration of the left ventricle, the isolated coronary artery bypass graft procedure, the correction of mitral regurgitation, diastolic support (from dynamic cardiomyoplasty to passive containment), and mechanical assist devices. Moreover, in the future, the role of surgery in the treatment of CHF will be strongly modified by the advent of gene therapy, cell therapy, and engineered artificial myocardial tissue.

New surgical therapies for heart failure

A growing number of patients present with heart failure. Some of them may qualify for surgical correction of their cardiac condition. Since heart transplantation will always be available to only a small number of patients, several new surgical techniques have been developed for approval in heart failure patients. Classic interventions such as revascularization, valve repair, or valve replacement have been improved and modified to meet the need of heart failure patients. Several of these techniques are currently under investigation in large clinical trials. These trials will definitely have an impact on the development of surgical treatment of patients with heart failure.

Left ventricular restoration for ischemic cardiomyopathy--comparison of presence and absence of mitral valve procedure

OBJECTIVE

Association of mitral regurgitation (MR) with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) increases the degree of heart failure and its surgical management remains controversial. The aim of this study was to report the surgical results in patients with or without MR in association with ICM.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Ninety-two patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction less than 30% with global akinesis) underwent LV restoration. Pre-operative New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was either in class-3 or -4 in all patients. MR was moderate to severe in 38 patients (MR-group) and none or mild in 54 patients (noMR-group). Moderate to severe MR was repaired in addition to the complete coronary artery bypass (CABG) and LV restoration. All patients were followed up and echocardiogram was repeated every 6 months after the surgery.

RESULTS

The procedure of LV restoration was selected pre- and intra-operative examination and endoventricular circular patch plasty was performed in 76, partial left ventricle resection in three, and septal anterior exclusion in 13. CABG was performed in 85 patients with mean 2.4+/-1.1 grafts in MR-group and 3.2+/-0.4 grafts in noMR-group (P<0.0001). In MR-group mitral valve plasty was performed in 24 and replacement in 14. Undersized (26 or 28 mm) circumferential mitral ring was used in 16 patients for mitral plasty. Emergent operation required in 15 patients (13 in MR-group and two in noMR group) and the hospital mortality was 18.4% in MR-group and 3.7% in no MR-group. Mitral regurgitation recurred in two patients with posterior ring annuloplasty and they underwent valve replacement. The post-operative NYHA functional class improved to class-1 or -2 in 65 patients and cumulative survival in 5 years including emergent and hospital deaths was 60.9% in MR-group and 70.1% in noMR-group.

CONCLUSION

In association of MR to ICM, emergent operation required more often and perioperative mortality rate was high. However, the aggressive combined mitral operation in addition to CABG and LV restoration showed the improvement of clinical symptom and quality of life after the surgery.

Left ventricular reconstruction by endoventricular circular patch plasty repair: a 17-year experience

The first experience with endoventricular circular patch plasty (EVCPP) was reported in 1984 as a surgical method to rebuild left ventricular (LV) geometry made more spheric after myocardial infarction. The consequence is dilated ischemic cardiomyopathy. In anterior infarction, the free LV wall and septum are scarred and become dyskinetic or akinetic. The fundamental approach excludes the noncontractile (asynergy) and nonresectable regions to restore more normal size and shape. The current experience of our group in 2001, includes 1,011 patients, and confirmation of our results by others, including an international team. The basic components are LV reconstruction, revascularization, and mitral repair (when needed), which form an integrated method of surgical management. Endocardiectomy and cryoablation are used with spontaneous and inducible ventricular arrhythmias. This article reviews these results and summarizes 10 important points concerning the surgical treatment of ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy that may provide guidelines for the future. These data indicate EVCPP, and its variations, form the central theme in surgical treatment of congestive heart failure.