[Direct arrhythmia surgery in ventricular tachycardia: an experience with 18 consecutive patients]

18 patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT) underwent direct arrhythmia surgery between 1984 and 1988. There were 8 patients with ischemic VT, and 10 with nonischemic VT. Operative technique consisted of ablative procedures of the arrhythmogenic area determined by pre- and intraoperative mapping. Induced VT was usually unstable and transient during operation, so that instantaneous multi-point mapping was necessary in almost cases. For VT originated in the left ventricle or interventricular septum, the earliest excitation point determined by the epicardial mapping did not always predict the endocardial arrhythmogenic focus. Pre- and/or intraoperative endocardial mapping was important in this regard. Cryocoagulation (-150 degrees C, 120 sec) was mainly used as an ablative procedure; for ischemic VT, endocardial resection was added, and in nonischemic VT originated in the right ventricular outflow tract, transmural resection was combined with the cryoablation. In performing surgery for nonischemic VT, care must have been taken to make transmural cryocoagulation because the arrhythmogenic focus could exist intramurally. There were no operative deaths. In one patient with nonischemic VT, reoperation was required. After a mean follow-up of 17 month, all the patients are free from sustained VT.