Late Outcomes of Surgical Ablation for Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) is a rare clinical disorder characterized by an elevated resting heart rate and an exaggerated rate response to exercise or autonomic stress. Pharmacologic therapy and catheter ablation are considered first-line treatments for IST but can yield suboptimal relief of symptoms. The results of surgical ablation at our center were reviewed for patients with refractory IST. METHODS: Between 1987 and 2018, 18 patients underwent surgical sinoatrial (SA) node isolation for treatment-refractory IST. All 18 patients had previously failed pharmacologic therapy, and 15 patients had failed catheter ablation of the SA node. RESULTS: Ten patients underwent a median sternotomy, and 8 patients underwent a minimally invasive right thoracotomy. The SA node was isolated with the use of surgical incisions, cryoablation, or bipolar radiofrequency ablations. Sinus tachycardia was eliminated in 100% of patients in the immediate postoperative period. Long-term follow-up data were available for 17 patients, with a mean follow-up of 11.4 ± 7.9 years. At last follow-up, 100% of patients were free from recurrent symptomatic IST. More than 80% of patients were completely asymptomatic, whereas 3 patients reported occasional palpitations. Four patients were on ß-blockers, and 5 patients required subsequent pacemaker implantation. All 8 patients who underwent minimally invasive isolation were in normal sinus rhythm at last follow-up, and only 1 patient complained of palpitations. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical isolation of the SA node is a feasible treatment for IST refractory to pharmacologic therapy and catheter ablation. A minimally invasive surgical approach offers a less morbid alternative to traditional median sternotomy.

Minimally Invasive Versus Full-Sternotomy Septal Myectomy for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVE: Septal myectomy remains the criterion standard for the treatment of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy refractory to medical therapy. There have been few reports of minimally invasive approaches. This study compared a minimally invasive septal myectomy performed at our institution with the traditional full-sternotomy approach. METHODS: Patients receiving a stand-alone septal myectomy were retrospectively reviewed from November 1999 to December 2016 (N = 120). Patients were stratified by surgical approach: traditional full sternotomy (n = 34) and ministernotomy (n = 86). Preoperative and perioperative variables were compared as well as follow-up symptomatic and echocardiographic outcomes. RESULTS: Both groups had a significant decrease in New York Heart Association class heart failure symptoms (P < 0.001). At a mean ± SD follow-up time of 2.0 ± 3.4 years, postoperative New York Heart Association class distribution was similar between ministernotomy and full sternotomy (P = 0.684). Follow-up resting left ventricular outflow tract gradient was also similar between ministernotomy and full sternotomy (11 mm Hg ± 15 vs 9 mm Hg ± 13, P = 0.381). Perioperatively, ministernotomy was not significantly different from full sternotomy in median cardiopulmonary bypass time (81 minutes vs 78 minutes, P = 0.101) but had a slightly longer median cross-clamp time (39 minutes vs 35 minutes, P = 0.017). Major complications were similar in the two groups. There was one 30-day mortality in the full-sternotomy group, but no in-hospital deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Septal myectomy performed using a minimally invasive approach has similar outcomes to the criterion standard operation done through a full sternotomy. It represents a feasible option for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy unresponsive to medications.