In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the wall between the left and right chambers of the heart—the septum—often becomes enlarged and fibrous. This may restrict the flow of blood from the left side of the heart to the aorta and the rest of the body. Septal myectomy involves removing part of the enlarged septum to allow more blood through the opening, relieving some of the symptoms of HCM.
This procedure involves putting the patient on bypass and temporarily stopping the heart during surgery to allow removal of tissue obstructing the flow of blood out of the left ventricle into the aorta. This procedure is typically reserved for patients with severe obstruction of the aortic opening that can’t be managed by other forms of treatment.
