title: Surgical repair of postinfarction structural failure of the posterobasal part of the heart.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study is an analysis of our results with endoventricular repair of postinfarction structural defects of the posterobasal part of the heart.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four patients who underwent endoventricular repair of a postinfarction structural defect of the posterobasal heart were reviewed. Patients with rupture of the ventricular septum (18 patients) or free wall (1 patient) were operated on acutely and patients with ventricular aneurysm (15 patients) electively. Restitution of the ventricular geometry was achieved by evertion (11 patients), resection (4 patients), or augmentation of the ventriculotomy (4 patients) in patients with ventricular rupture, and by resection of the aneurysm in the others. Coronary artery bypass was performed in 24 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six patients died postoperatively (five due to rupture and one from aneurysm) and nine patients (six due to rupture and three from aneurysm) during follow-up. Survival rate at 5 years (including operative mortality) was 43% for patients with rupture and 61% for patients with aneurysm. The majority of the survivors were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II after a median follow-up of 5 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Endocardial repair, ventricular remodeling, and selective myocardial revascularization provided overall good results in the treatment of this difficult cardiac area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland. rene.pretre@chi.usz.ch
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prêtre
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stalder
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grünenfelder
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jenni
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Turina
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D006342:Heart Rupture, Post-Infarction / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D015996:Survival Rate; D018658:Ventricular Septal Rupture / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery