[Alternative surgical options to heart transplantation]

Cardiac transplantation is the treatment of reference for refractory cardiac failure but the limited number of donors, the complications inherent to transplantation and the relative and absolute contra-indications has made it necessary to find alternative surgical solutions. The detection of myocardial viability by Thallium scintigraphy, Dobutamine echocardiography and/or position emission tomography in coronary disease, allows identification of zones which are capable of recovering contractile function after revascularisation. The authors report the results of a series of 91 operated patients with a 10 year follow-up having a 72% 5 year actuarial survival and improved ejection fraction. The other alternative which may improve symptoms and prognosis in patients with severe ischaemic heart disease with left ventricular dysfunction is apical remodelling or Dor's procedure. The results of a haemodynamic study at 1 year of 171 patients clearly show a functional improvement and an increase of the ejection fraction. The advantage of this method is that it can be used in patients with dyskinetic and akinetic plaques resulting from antero-septo-apical infarction. Finally, even if mitral regurgitation is relatively uncommon in chronic ischaemic heart disease, a simple procedure (annuloplasty) is often sufficient to correct the mitral regurgitation and reduce the afterload of a failing ventricle. On the other hand, in dilated cardiomyopathy, two new options have been developed; one, suggested by Steven Bolling, proposes simple mitral annuloplasty whatever the underlying cause (primary or ischaemic cardiomyopathy) with symptomatic improvement and better haemodynamics in terms of increased cardiac output and oxygen consumption on exercise and an actuarial survival much higher than that of cardiac transplantation at one and at two years. The most recent innovation is the Batista procedure which is a method of ventricular reduction associated with correction of mitral regurgitation. The authors have assessed 20 patients for this operation at the Foch Hospital by Dobutamine echocardiography and 5 patients underwent the procedure. All 5 patients reported symptomatic improvement but some had an unchanged haemodynamic status. Others improved at rest and some improved on exercise. The Cleveland Clinic series reported results in 57 cases. Whichever alternative method tested, there is a significant functional improvement but the cardiac output does not always increase. There are no comparative prospective randomised studies and strict selection of patients is required, a problem not yet resolved for all indications. The advantages of these procedures are certain as there is no waiting list, the functional results in good indications have been demonstrated and, if necessary, secondary orthotopic cardiac transplantation is always possible.