<p><b>Background:</b> The purpose of this study was to summarize our experience of extended ventricular septal myectomy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).</p><p><b>Methods:</b> Thirty-eight patients (26 men, 12 women) with HOCM underwent extended ventricular septal myectomy. The mean age was 36.3 years (range, 18-64 years). Diagnosis was made by echocardiography. The mean (mean � SE) systolic gradient between the left ventricle (LV) and the aorta was 89.3 � 31.1 mm Hg (range, 50-184 mm Hg) according to echocardiographic assessments before the operations. Moderate or severe systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve was found in 38 cases, and mitral regurgitation was present in 29 cases. Extended ventricular septal myectomy was performed in all 38 cases. The results of the surgical procedures were evaluated intraoperatively with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) at 1 to 2 weeks after the operation. All patients were followed up with TTE after their operation.</p><p><b>Results:</b> All patients were discharged without complications. The TEE evaluations showed that the mean systolic gradient between the LV and the aorta decreased from 94.8 � 35.6 mm Hg preoperatively to 13.6 � 10.8 mm Hg postoperatively (<i>P</i> = .0000) and that the mean thickness of the ventricular septum decreased from 28.3 � 7.9 mm to 11.8 � 3.2 mm (<i>P</i> = .0000). Mitral regurgitation and SAM were significantly reduced or eliminated. During the follow-up, all patients promptly became completely asymptomatic or complained of mild effort dyspnea only, and syncope was abolished. TTE examinations showed that the postoperative pressure gradient either remained the same or diminished.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b> Extended ventricular septal myectomy is mostly an effective method for patients with HOCM, and good surgical exposure and thorough excision of the hypertrophic septum are of paramount importance for a successful surgery.</p>
Commentary: Latent hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy—(Un)clear and present danger
