Mitral valve replacement and endocavitary patch repair for a giant left ventricular pseudoaneurysm

We present a case of a giant inferior left ventricular (LV) wall pseudoaneu rysm. The patient had New York Heart Association class IV heart failure due to severe mitral valve regurgitation and poor LV function. Our operative a pproach included right thoracotomy, excision of the mitral valve, and patch repair of the pseudoaneurysm neck from inside of the dilated LV cavity fol lowed by mitral valve replacement. Surgery was performed without aortic cro ss-clamping on a normothermic perfused beating heart. The patient had an un complicated cardiac recovery and is doing well 15 months after surgery. (C) 2001 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.