Latissimus dorsi dynamic cardiomyoplasty.

Cardiomyoplasty is a new surgical technique that uses an electrostimulated skeletal muscle to reinforce or partially replace the heart muscle. Since the first clinical case performed in 1985, long-term beneficial cardiac effects of latissimus dorsi cardiomyoplasty have been documented in patients with various myocardial diseases (ischemic, neoplastic, dilated cardiomyopathy). In this article we describe the surgical technique that we have developed to biomechanically assist severe and irreversible ventricular failure.