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Postinfarction ventricular free wall rupture: strategies for diagnosis and treatment
F W Sutherland1, F J Guell, V L Pathi
1University Department of Cardiac Surgery, Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust, United Kingdom.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|April 1, 1996
Abstract:
Ventricular free wall rupture is a recognized complication of myocardial infarction. In recent years, the widespread availability of echocardiography has enabled prompt antemortem diagnosis. Consequently, an avenue for lifesaving surgical intervention has emerged for this hitherto fatal condition. We review the pathology and discuss strategies for diagnosis, resuscitation, and definitive surgical intervention. We illustrate this review using our experience with a patient whose condition was diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography and who successfully underwent emergency operation.