What to do about hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

  The surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is a hot issue in the field of cardiac surgery. The prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in China is 0.18%, with approximately 1 million patients. The surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy presents many challenges due to differences in intraoperative visualization and understanding of the mechanisms of obstruction development. Currently, several surgical approaches are used to treat hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with relatively satisfactory results. How to choose a simple and effective treatment is extremely necessary to carry out this work extensively.  From March 2007 to September 2009, we performed surgical treatment of 10 cases of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy using enlarged septal resection combined with “edge-to-edge” mitral valvuloplasty. The patients were aged 17-76 years. Eight were male and two were female. All patients had significant preoperative chest tightness after activity, shortness of breath, and decreased activity tolerance. 2 patients had a clear history of syncope before surgery. The ratio of basal septal thickness to posterior left ventricular wall thickness was 1.36-2.67. 10 patients had positive SAM sign, 7 had moderate mitral valve insufficiency, 3 had mild mitral valve insufficiency, 1 had combined right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and 1 had combined atrial fibrillation.  All procedures were performed under general anesthesia and extracorporeal circulation. The aortic root incision was used to perform enlarged septal resection, which started from the right coronary valve inferior to the right junctionless 1/3, avoiding the membranous septal tissue, to the myocardium on the left side of the anterior mitral valve leaflet attachment site, and the inferior border to the papillary muscle attachment site.  RESULTS: There were no perioperative deaths. 1 case of acute renal failure occurred postoperatively and was cured after dialysis treatment. No other serious complications occurred. The follow-up period was from 1 month to 28 months (mean 7. 7 months). The maximum postoperative flow velocity across the left ventricular outflow tract was 160-218 cm/s. The ratio of basal septal segment thickness to posterior left ventricular wall thickness was 1.1-1.8. The SAM sign disappeared in all 10 patients. 9 had no or minimal mitral valve insufficiency, and 1 had mild mitral valve insufficiency. One patient who underwent radiofrequency ablation at the same time had a sinus rhythm on the ECG 6 months after the procedure.  Conclusion: Enlarged septal resection combined with “edge-to-edge” mitral valvuloplasty is a simple and effective method for the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. It can satisfactorily relieve the obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract, eliminate the SAM sign of the mitral valve, and correct the combined mitral valve insufficiency at the same time. The near-term results are satisfactory, and the long-term results require further follow-up.