First experience with cardiomyoplasty in Ukraine.

We have been studying feasible surgical alternatives for treating congestive heart failure, including the use of cardiomyoplasty. In this operation, skeletal muscles are conditioned, through electrical stimulation, to provide active tension on diseased myocardium, which improves left ventricular performance and ultimately increases cardiac output. We performed cardiomyoplasty in a 37-year-old man with severe ischemic cardiomyopathy. He was discharged from the hospital 2.5 months after the operation, and he did not require medical therapy. We believe this to be the 1st cardiomyoplasty performed in Ukraine.