Special Contribution

Yonago Acta medica 2012;55:49–56

Surgical Treatment for Severe Heart Failure:
Recent Progress in Treatment Strategy and its Present
Status in Japan
Motonobu Nishimura
Division of Organ Regeneration Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago 683-8504, Japan
Chronic intractable heart failure that is unresponsive to maximum medical therapy can havea wide variety of causes; these include advanced valvular diseases and severe myocardialischemia, ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) in heart failure following extensive myocardial
infarction, chronic heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in which the myocardium itself is progressively damaged or the acute aggravation of the latter. Heart transplantation has long been considered the only useful treatment for patients with heart failure
due to ICM- and DCM-induced severe left ventricular hypofunction. However, because of
the extremely limited number of heart transplant donors, other surgical treatments havealso been attempted. In this communication, we provide an overview of the current situation
with regard to left ventriculoplasty and heart transplantations, as well as of the treatment ofsevere heart failure using ventricular assist devices, which have recently shown remarkableprogress.
Key words: heart transplant; left ventriculoplasty; ventricular assist device

Chronic intractable heart failure that is unresponsive to maximum medical therapy can have a wide
variety of causes. These include advanced valvulardiseases; severe myocardial ischemia; ischemic
cardiomyopathy (ICM), which is a state of chronic
heart failure that develops after an extensive myocardial infarction; and dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM), which is heart failure due to the failure of
myocardial cells. Heart transplant has long been
considered the only treatment for patients withheart failure due to severe left ventricular functional
decline resulting from ICM and DCM. However,
because of the very limited number of heart transplant donors, other surgical treatments have also
been attempted. Left ventriculoplasty is one suchtreatment that involves adjusting the shape, reducing the volume, and improving the function of theleft ventricle, whose lumen is enlarged because ofheart failure. It has been clinically applied for thetreatment of ICM since the 1980s (Dor et al., 1995),
and its indication has also spread to the treatmentof DCM since the 1990s (Batista et al., 1996). However, the limitations of these surgical procedures
have been gradually revealed in recent years, andcontinual efforts have been made to improve surgical methods and to establish their indications (Sumaand RESTORE Group, 2001; Matsui et al., 2004).
Since the establishment of the Organ Transplant Law in 1997, heart transplantation from braindead patients has also been performed in Japan.
However, the law strictly required that in order fororgans to be transplanted, the donors had to express
their intent to donate their organs when alive; consequently, 10 years since the enforcement of the law,

Abbreviations: DCM, dilated cardiomyopathy; ICM, ischemic cardiomyopathy; LVAD, left ventricular assist device; QOL,
quality of life; NYHA, New York Heart Association; MR, mitral regurgitation; SAVE, septal anterior ventricular exclusion49

M. Nishimura

the number of brain-dead donors has been approximately 60, which, in a population of 100 million
people, was the equivalent of 5 brain-dead donors
per year, in other words, 100 times less than thenumber found in Western countries. Under such circumstances, the revised version of the Organ Transplant Law was enacted in 2010, and organ donationfrom a brain-dead patient has become possible upon
obtaining consent from the patient’s family members, even in the absence of a declaration of intention provided by the patient before death. Therefore,
the number of heart transplants performed has increased to 50 per year. However, the number is still
only about one-tenth of that in Western countries
and thus is still insufficient. In the 1990s, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) were actively used
as a bridge in heart transplantation. In particular,
implantable LVADs such as HeartMate (Thoratec,
Pleasanton, CA) and Novacor (WorldHeart, Ottawa,
Canada) have been widely used in Europe and theUnited States because of their capability to provide
a better long-term quality of life (QOL). The practical use of small-sized and long-term durable continuous-flow pumps in clinical settings was initiatedin 2000. Therefore, the survival rate has improved,and destination therapy has been attempted on patients who are not candidates for heart transplantation. In addition, there have been reported cases inwhich the patients’ own cardiac function recovered
after using VADs for circulatory support, which enabled these patients to withdraw from these VADs
(bridge to recovery); this has attracted attention as a
new possibility (Müller et al., 1997).
The present report provides an overview of thecurrent situation regarding the surgical treatment ofsevere heart failure.

mural myocardial infarction was first performedby Cooley in 1958 under artificial heart and lungsupport; many later studies have shown its effectiveness. Dor et al. reported, beginning in the 1980s,
that even in treatment of ICM (which causes anoverall decrease in left ventricular function becauseof extensive akinesis), left ventriculoplasty was also
believed to improve cardiac function, in the samemanner as in its use in the treatment of left ventricular aneurysms (Dor et al., 1995). Because of the
spread of early intervention in the treatment of acute
myocardial infarction, the number of patients withpersistent akinesis due to subendocardial infarctions tends to be higher than that due to transmuralinfarctions. However, after a relatively extensive
myocardial infarction, and regardless of whether
the infarcted region shows dyskinesis or akinesis, aremodeling occurs, causing a gradual expansion of
the noninfarcted region along with deterioration inits function. Ultimately, this leads to ICM, namely,a decrease in the contractility of the entire left ventricle. In such cases, left ventriculoplasty is appliedthat aims to improve both the contractility of the remaining noninfarcted region and the left ventricular
dilatation and morphological changes caused by theremodeling during surgical resection or plasty of
the infarcted region.
Surgical procedure
The problem with the conventional surgical technique (a method known as “linear closure”, which
consists of performing a longitudinal incision in
the infarcted region in the anterior wall of the left
ventricle, with resection and suturing of the infarcted area) is that the infarcted region remains inthe septum; therefore, Dor et al. proposed a method
consisting of a purse-string suture (a Fontan stitch)at the infarction site, including the septum andits border with healthy areas, followed by closure
through application of a patch (Dor et al., 1995).
Ever since its introduction, the method has been
widely used worldwide. In addition, the surgical
technique known as septal anterior ventricular exclusion (SAVE), in which a vertical patch is sewn at

Left ventriculoplasty forthe treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy
Concept
Resection of left ventricular aneurysms to treat theextensive dyskinesis that can occur after a trans50

Surgical treatment for heart failure

the border between the infarcted area and healthy
regions, has also been performed. In this technique,
Fontan stitch is not required to ensure that the left
ventricle has a shortened transverse diameter and an
oblong shape (Suma and RESTORE Group, 2001).
Both methods allow for a reduction in the volume of
the left ventricle and make it possible to ensure thatthe morphology of the left ventricle (which becomesspherical due to remodeling) returns to its original
oblong shape.

severe tethering. During left ventriculoplasty, if sutures are also placed between the anterior and posterior papillary muscles for shortening the distanceand restoring the mitral tethering from inside theleft ventricle, the treatment was found to be more
physiological and recurrences may be prevented(Menicanti et al. and RESTORE Group, 2004).
Further, it has also been reported that in patientswith a history of severe ventricular arrhythmias, theincidence can be reduced by cryocoagulation of the“gray zone” located at the borderline between theinfarcted and noninfarcted regions, and the resultscomparable to those obtained using automated implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (DiDonato et al.
and RESTORE Group, 2004).

Indications and outcomes
The indications for this surgical technique include
the presence of symptoms such as heart failure,chest pain, and arrhythmia; akinesis or dyskinesis
over a broad region (occupying 35% or more of theleft ventricular circumference) due to anteroseptal
myocardial infarction; and expansion of the left
ventricle (left ventricular end-diastolic volume index greater than 100 mL/m2 or left ventricular endsystolic volume index greater than 60 mL/m2) anda decrease in left ventricular contractility (Menicanti et al. and RESTORE Group, 2002). Recently
reported studies conducted in other facilities haveshown that left ventriculoplasty has comparatively
favorable outcomes. Surgical patients who met theabove-mentioned indications have been reported toaccount for 1,198 cases, with a hospital mortality
rate of 5.3%, a 5-year survival rate of 68.6%, anda 78% avoidance of heart failure at 5 years after
surgery (Athanasuleas et al. and RESTORE Group,2004). In addition, the efficacy of left ventriculoplasty in the treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR)
has recently been the focus of attention. In ICM,
which is often associated with left ventricular enlargement, annuloectasia and tethering of the mitralvalve leaflets due to displacement of the papillarymuscle cause reduction in the coaptation area and isoften complicated by MR. Commonly, “undersizing
and overcorrecting” by employing small-diameter
full-circumference prosthetic valves enables restoration of the coaptation areas of the mitral valve leaflets and an improvement in MR. However, residual
MR and recurrences often occur in patients with

Left ventriculoplasty
for the treatment of idiopathic DCM
Batista surgery
In treatment of DCM, Batista first reported improvement in left ventricular contractility by reducing the left ventricular volume by performing apartial resection of the posterior wall of the left ventricle (Batista et al., 1996). Since then, the method
has rapidly spread worldwide as “Batista’s surgery”(Batista procedure). The concept of surgical size reduction of the dilated left ventricle for preventing orreversing remodeling is similar to that used in ICM.
However, the difference from the surgical treatment
of ICM is that instead of the infarcted region, theremaining cardiac muscle with deteriorated function is removed.
Outcomes
After Batista’s report, additional tests were conducted in Europe and the United States, and according to a report published by Cleveland Clinic on a
study conducted on New York Heart Association(NYHA) class III or IV heart transplant candidates
with a left ventricular end-diastolic diameter > 70mm, the rate of patients who require heart trans51

M. Nishimura

plantation and assisted circulation because of acutecirculatory failure was as high as 16%, and therates of mortality and avoidance of recurrent heart
failure at 1 year and at 3 years were 49% and 26%,
respectively, which were considered low (FrancoCereceda et al., 2001). Although the symptoms andleft ventricular function certainly improved in somepatients over time, such an outcome was difficult topredict preoperatively; therefore, this surgical technique was not performed in Europe and the UnitedStates. In Japan, because of the small number ofheart transplant donors, the technique is performed
as an alternative to heart transplantation in someinstitutions. Efforts aimed at improving outcomescontinue and include the evaluation of local cardiac
function before or during surgery, the resection of
all regions showing poorest systolic contractions,rather than limiting the resection to only the posterior wall (Suma and RESTORE Group, 2001), andmyocardioplasty in which the myocardium is left inplace and is superimposed instead of resected (overlapping method) (Matsui et al., 2004).

the Organ Transplant Law; however, because ofvarious restrictions pertaining to organ donationfrom brain-dead patients, such as the strict application of the law requiring the donor to provide awritten document stating their intent to donate organs before their death, very few people were able
to receive heart transplants, and patients had to go
through a long waiting period before undergoingcardiac transplantation. In response to that trend,
the Revised Organ Transplant Law was enacted in2010. Since the revised law was enforced, organ
donation from brain-dead patients has become possible upon consent from their families, even if thepatients themselves did not clearly show an intention to donate their organs before their death. In
addition, organ donation from brain-dead children
less than 15 years of age has also become possible.
Since the enforcement of the revised law, organ donations from brain-dead patients have increased in
number, and the number of cardiac transplantations
performed per year has also increased, from 5 to
10 in the past to approximately 50. However, due tothe increasing number of registered patients waitingfor heart transplants, the changes did not lead to ashortening of the transplant waiting period.
Although cardiac transplantation is currently
the most well-established therapeutic method forsevere heart failure, it has also encountered various problems. One of which is the need for organ
donation from brain-dead patients; the other islifetime immunosuppressive therapy in most cases.
Immunosuppressive agents are often expensive andimpose a heavy financial burden on patients. In addition, the side effects of immunosuppressive agentsare associated with various problems, including aggravation of arteriosclerosis and osteoporosis due
to steroid use and an increase in carcinogenesis due
to long-term suppression of immunocompetence.
Therefore, efforts have been made to develop immunosuppressive drugs with fewer side effects.
Given the problems associated with cardiac transplantation, treatment outcomes could be better iftherapeutic methods are developed that provide a
better vital prognosis than that associated with hearttransplantation or which ensure an improvement in

Cardiac transplantation
For more severe forms of heart failure in which
no improvement is observed even after maximum
medical treatment or after having been treatedwith the new surgical techniques described earlier,heart transplantation is the most effective methodof treatment. One of the indications for heart transplantation is a diagnosis with a 2-year survival rateof about 50%. Meanwhile, patients treated by hearttransplantation have a 2-year survival rate of 80%
and a 10-year survival rate of 50%. Even from theperspective of malignant diseases, a 2-year survival
rate of 50% suggests that a disease has quite a poor
prognosis. Of the currently available treatments,
heart transplantation is the one that can be expected
to ensure the highest survival rate for such patients.
Currently, approximately 3,000 patients per year
undergo cardiac transplantation all over the world.
In Japan as well, cardiac transplantation was officially initiated in 1997 after the establishment of52

Surgical treatment for heart failure

paracorporeal VADs, implantable VADs generally
have a blood pump implanted inside the body, suchas in the abdominal region, and are therefore associated with a smaller risk of infection. In addition,
because they are also excellent with regard to patient QOL, they are believed to be more suitable forlong-term assistance lasting several months or more.
Currently, the VADs that are most commonly usedin Japan are the paracorporeal pumps manufactured
by Nipro Corporation (Osaka, Japan) (Fig. 1).
When used for long-term assistance, paracorporeal pneumatically-driven VADs are associatedwith a poorer QOL than that allowed by the implantable type. However, like implantable pumps,
they are useful as a bridge to heart transplantation.
They are particularly useful for patients with a small
physique whose body surface area is less than 1.5
m2, for pediatric patients, and for patients in needof bilateral ventricular assist system who, because
of severe right heart failure, must be implanted witha VAD in the right ventricle in addition to that in
the left ventricle. This is because the currently usedimplantable pumps have been designed to assist theleft ventricle, and do not allow a second one to be
implanted in the right ventricle. On the other hand,HeartMate (Thoratec) and Novacor (WorldHeart)
are typical implantable pulsatile pumps (Fig. 2).
Altogether, these 2 models have been used in morethan 5000 cases worldwide; however, they havebeen rarely used since 2010 because continuousflow pumps were found to be better.

QOL in a manner that outweighs that due to hearttransplantation. Under such circumstances, treatments that use VADs have received attention.

Use of VADs
for the treatment of heart failure
The major VADs currently in use
VADs, which began to be developed in the 1970s,
have been used in clinical settings since the mid1990s as bridges in heart transplantation. Some
VADs are extracorporeal, and the others are intracorporeal. Those that were used in the 1990s were
all pulsatile pumps. Because the types of pumps
that are implantable inside the abdominal wall or
inside the abdominal cavity are excellent in termsof QOL for patients wearing them, implantablepulsatile pumps have been widely used. The pumps
were known as the first generation of implantabledevices. In the early 2000s, the first-generation
devices were found to have limitations such as thefact that the implanted portion was large, infections
developed easily, and the mechanical durability ofthe devices was problematic. Therefore, the second
and third generations of artificial hearts were developed. These have been successfully used in clinicalsettings. The new generation of devices consists ofcontinuous-flow pumps such as axial-flow pumps
and centrifugal pumps that are miniaturized. Their
durability has also improved. The second-generation
devices have a rolling-contact bearing of the rotor,
and the third-generation devices have further improved durability and no longer have rolling-contact
bearing. Previous reports have shown that becauseof the small size of the second-generation and thirdgeneration VADs, surgery is less invasive and complications such as infection are less frequent (Frazieret al., 2004).

Continuous-flow pumps
Since the 1990s, active research and development
has been done on the continuous-flow pumps suchas implantable axial-flow pumps and centrifugal
pumps. Their advantages include the fact that theirsize is smaller than those of conventional pulsatile pumps, they cost less because of their simple
structure, and there is no need for artificial heart
valves. Altogether, MicroMed DeBakey, HeartMate
II (Thoratec), and Jarvik 2000 (Jarvik Heart, New
York, NY; Fig. 3) have been used in clinical settings
in more than 2000 cases in Europe and the UnitedStates. There has been a particularly exponential

Pulsatile pumps
Pulsatile pumps, which are known as the first-generation VADs, are of 2 different types: the paracorporeal type and the implantable type. Compared to the53

Fig. 1. Nipro pneumaticallydriven paracorporeal pump.
Left: pump is sit outside
the body and connectedto the console. The twocannulas penetrating
the skin were connectedto the left atrium andascending aorta, respectively.
Right: a patient supportedwith Nipro pump. The
patient is fully ambulated, but needs to go withthe large consele next tohim.
Fig. 2. Implantable pulsatile pumps.
Two cannulas are connected to the left
ventricle and asciendng aorta, respectively. Pumps are sit either in the abdominal wall or in the abdominal cavity.
Left: Novacor (WorldHeart, Ottawa,
Canada).
Right: HeartMate I (Thoratec,
Pleasanton, CA).
Fig. 3. Jarvik 2000, an implantable
continuous flow pump.
Left: Jarvik 2000 is shown on the palm.
Note that the size is much smaller
than those of the implantable pulsatile pumps.
Right: chest X-ray of a patient supportedwith Jarvik
2000. Thepump itself
is sit in theleft ventricular cavity.

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Surgical treatment for heart failure

and ventricular resynchronization, combined withsurgical treatments such as mitral valvuloplasty,
left ventricular reduction surgery, and regenerative
treatments such as cell transplantation and genetherapy, have been reported to be useful (Nishimura
et al., 2005). However, it is currently difficult to predict patients in which cardiac functional recovery is
possible. In addition, future studies are expected tosolve the issue of predicting or preventing the recurrence of heart failure after withdrawal from VADs
and of evaluating the extent of recovery of cardiac
function in patients wearing a VAD.

increase in the use of the HeartMate II, which has
almost replaced the first-generation pulsatile pumps.
In Japan as well, 2 models of implantable centrifugal pumps, namely EVAHEART (Sun Medical, Suwa, Japan) and DuraHeart (Terumo, Tokyo,
Japan), received approval for manufacture and salein January 2011, and have been approved for insurance reimbursement since April 2011. HeartMate II(Thoratec) and Jarvik 2000 (Jarvik Heart) are also
pending approval.
New purposes of employing VADs “bridge
to recovery”

Conclusion: Although there have been remarkabledevelopments in medical treatment for heart failure,
surgery still plays an important role in its treatment,
particularly in severe heart failure cases. In the future, combinations of a wider variety of therapeutic
methods could be promising in improving treatment
outcomes in severe heart failure.

In 1990, when the use of VADs as a bridge towards heart transplantation became popular, it
was believed that a VAD was installed in case of
severe end-stage heart failure due to cardiomyopathy, which is a basically progressive disease, andtherefore, withdrawal from the use of VADs wasconsidered extremely difficult. However, in 1997,
the Berlin Heart Institute reported that 17 patientswith idiopathic DCM could withdraw from VADs,
and the phenomenon attracted attention (Müller etal., 1997). A normalization of neurohumoral factors, an improvement of calcium handling in myocardial cells, and an increase in the number of beta
adrenergic receptors are thought to occur while thecardiovascular circulation is assisted and the loadon the heart is reduced by VADs. In Japan, wherebrain-dead donors are difficult to find, the “bridge
to recovery” strategy is much more important than
it is in Western countries, and its availability to all
patients wearing VADs should be pursued. For all
patients who undergo placement of a VAD in our
institution, medical treatment of heart failure, consisting of the administration of medications such as
beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme
inhibitors, is initiated after the device has been put
in place, as soon as the patient is capable of ingesting food and liquid orally. Recently, there has beena focus on strategies that aim at withdrawal from
VADs by using methods that actively contribute to
the recovery of left ventricular function in patientswearing the device; therefore, pharmacotherapy

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Received and acceppted September 4, 2012
Corresponding author: Motonobu Nishimura, MD

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