Left ventricular aneurysmectomy

Comparison of preoperative and postoperative studies in 81 patients undergoing left ventricular aneurysmectomy failed to show consistent hemodynamic trends. The most reliable prognostic indicator for survival (84% early, 71% late) was the function of the basilar ventricular segments. In 62 of the 81 patients, there was concomitant aortocoronary bypass grafting. Eighty-eight percent of the surviving patients are essentially free of symptoms. These findings support the continued surgical treatment of ventricular aneurysm in symptomatic patients, and suggest nonoperative treatment for patients who are asymptomatic.