Exams and Treatments

Share

Aa-+

Septal myectomy

Objectifs 

The goal of the septal myectomy procedure is to reduce a thickening of the heart muscle (generally a congenital or birth defect) located under the aortic valve within the heart. This thickened area obstructs blood flow during heart contractions. Patients are placed on heart-lung bypass for this procedure. The surgeon removes part of the thickened muscle via the aortic valve. There are therefore no incisions in the heart cavities themselves.

Duration 

A septal myectomy lasts 2 to 3 hours.

Preparation 

The MHI will contact surgical patients at home to plan a pre-admission meeting. If you are unable to attend one of these meetings, you can still get a lot of useful information about your procedure in the MHI's Heart Surgery: Patient's Handbook. If you have concerns before the surgery, you can contact the nurse working with your surgeon at 514-376-3330, extension 4062.

For this procedure, patients must be hospitalized in the Surgical Unit the night before the procedure or must arrive early the morning of the operation. The required exams are as follows: blood work and biochemical analysis, coronary angiography, chest X-ray, cardiac ultrasound and, if required, cardiac CT scan.

On the day of the surgery:
• You must be in a fasting state as of midnight the night before.
• A member of the care team will shave the required areas of the body.
• After being shaved, patients must wash with a disinfectant soap and put on a new hospital gown.
• The nurse will give patients their normal medication as well as medication to help them relax. The nurse applies a nasal cannula to administer oxygen.
• A patient service associate takes the patient to the operating room, where a specialist administers anesthesia.

Heart Surgery: Patient's Handbook

Follow-up and side effects 

Patients normally see the surgeon 2 to 3 months after the procedure and are then followed by their family doctor or cardiologist. The main side effects are fatigue and shortness of breath, which will gradually disappear with exercise and a return to normal activities. Patients generally return to work after 3 months of recovery. 

Contact 
Department of Surgery