Surgery for left ventricular free wall rupture: patch glue repair without extracorporeal circulation.

Left ventricular free wall rupture is a dramatic complication after myocardial infarction. We present our experience with the simple, expedient technique of patch glue repair without extracorporeal circulation. Access is obtained via median sternotomy. Evacuation of blood and haematoma is undertaken and a Goretex patch exceeding the size of infarct is fashioned. The patch is applied to the epicardium using enbrucrilate surgical glue instilled with gentle pressure against the beating heart. We performed this technique on 17 patients from 1993 to 2001, with a operative (30-day) mortality of 23.5% with a post-discharge survival of 85% at 2.2 years.