PMID: 3767510Oct 1, 1986Paper

Successful clinical laser ablation of ventricular tachycardia: a promising new therapeutic method

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
J G SelleF R Robicsek

Abstract

This preliminary report describes 5 consecutive patients operated on for drug-resistant ventricular tachycardia (VT). All were successfully treated with laser photocoagulation ablation alone. The continuous-wave neodymium:yttrium-aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (wavelength, 1.06 micron) was chosen because of its capability for controlled deep tissue penetration, which can be adjusted by manipulating the power and exposure time of the beam. All patients had severe coronary artery disease. Preoperative left ventricular ejection fractions were low (0.18 to 0.29). Risk factors associated with increased failure rates by conventional surgical approaches were frequent: absence of discrete left ventricular aneurysm (5 patients) and multiple VT morphologies with disparate sites of origin (4 patients). All patients recovered fully. VT was not inducible prior to discharge, and no patient was placed on a regimen of antiarrhythmic drugs. Current direct surgical approaches to drug-resistant VT have markedly improved operative results compared with indirect procedures. However, failures and mortality remain high. Laser photocoagulation obviates some of the problems associated with conventional methods. It is similar to cryotherapy in that the ...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1975·The Annals of Thoracic Surgery·J H Wittig, J P Boineau
Feb 1, 1975·British Heart Journal·R A SpurrellD C Deuchar
Jan 1, 1982·The American Journal of Cardiology·J J GallagherW M Smith

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Citations

Jul 25, 2007·Herzschrittmachertherapie & Elektrophysiologie·T DoenstF W Mohr
Jul 1, 1989·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·A S ManolisN A Estes
Aug 1, 1989·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·W S PierceJ A Waldhausen
Jan 1, 1989·Journal of the American College of Cardiology·J D Fisher, R F Brodman
Nov 1, 1994·Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology : PACE·R K ThakurC M Guiraudon
Nov 1, 1988·The Annals of Thoracic Surgery·J L Cox, M Rosenbloom
Jan 18, 2005·Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology·Ryo OtsukaShunichi Homma
Dec 5, 1989·The American Journal of Cardiology·T IwaK Ishida
Jan 1, 1993·International Journal of Cardiology·G B HuntD L Ross
Apr 24, 1999·The Annals of Thoracic Surgery·H WatanabeS Eguchi
Jun 1, 1989·Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology : PACE·H WeberE Keiditisch
Jan 1, 1988·Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology : PACE·F Morady

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