[Stellectomy in the treatment of patients with long QT syndrome]

The authors present the surgical technique of stellate ganglion excision as a therapeutic method in patients with the long QT syndrome. The operations were performed through an anterior supraclavicular approach. Discussing the anatomic considerations, the possibilities of complications and side effects, both temporary and permanent, including Horner's syndrome are reviewed. On the base of the review of present literature and the postoperative results in patients treated in the Otolaryngological Department of the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, the authors confirm that the results of stellate ganglion excision in patients with the long QT syndrome are encouraging, but the possibilities of complications, including sudden death after stellectomy, must be taken into consideration.