Surgical Treatment of Postinfarct Ventricular Tachycardia—Seven Years of Experience

Abstract

The results of surgery for postischemic drug-resistant ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are still controversial. The operative mortality in the literature ranges between 10% and 40% because of selection of patients. The authors reviewed their experience at Freeman Hospital where all patients with drug-refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) underwent surgical treatment regardless of left ventricular function (LVF) and of time from infarction and operation.

Between March, 1981, and March, 1988, 65 patients [53 men, 12 women aged thirteen to seventy-five years (mean fifty-four)] underwent surgery. All of them had a previous myocardial infarct (MI). Mean preoperative ejection fraction was 28% ± 11, and 32 % had single-vessel, 44 % double-vessel, and 24% triple-vessel disease. In 16 surgical treatment was undertaken on an emergency basis. All had intraoperative mapping based on activation sequence or, when this was not possible (noninducible VT/VF), on analysis of fragmented potentials. LV endocardial resection was performed in 64 patients. Heart transplant (HTx) was necessary in 1. Associated procedures were aneurysmectomy in 40 patients (62%), multiple cryoablation in 13 (20%), encircling ventriculotomy in 8 (12%), right ventricular endocardial resection in 1, coronary artery bypass grafting in 43 (66%), mitral valve replacement in 5 (8%), and closure of postinfarct ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 2.

The operative mortality was 26% (17 patients}. The main cause of death was left ventricular failure, 13 (20%). The mortality was higher in patients with previous anterior MI 15/49 (31%) and in emergency operations 9/16 (56%).

The follow-up ranged between four and forty months (mean twenty-two months) with 6 late deaths (2 arrhythmia related). In 11 patients (17%) postoperative arrhythmic episodes were observed, but only in 6 (5 drug controlled, 1 without therapy) was there recurrence of preoperative arrhythmia. Surgery for life-threatening VA allows good long-term results for relief of arrhythmias. Perioperative mortality is still high in unselected patients; it depends mainly on the preoperative LVF. HTx in cases with very depressed LVF is an option, but in the majority of patients in this group it was contraindicated.