A Novel Minimally Invasive Device (Septulus) for Treating
Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy
Henrik Bjursten
1
and Magnus Dencker
2
1
Department of Cardithoracic Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
2
Department of Medical Imaging and Physiology, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
Keywords: Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, HOCM, Minimally Invasive, Myectomy, Surgical Device.
1 OBJECTIVES
Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
is a not uncommon heart disease with similar
clinical presentation and prognosis as aortic stenosis
(Maron et al., 2011). Treatment modalities for this
condition has been alcohol septal ablation,
pacemaker and open heart surgery (Maron et al.,
2011; Maron, 2007). Surgery with myectomy is
considered the treatment with the best outcome in
terms of symptom relief and long-term survival.
However, this is an invasive procedure that requires
cardio-pulmonary bypass and a longer recover, as
well as other risks for complications associated with
cardiac surgery. We have developed a device
(Septulus, figure 1) for minimally invasive surgical
resection of the septal bulge found in HOCM that
does not require sternotomy or cardiopulmonary
bypass.
2 METHODS
An experimental porcine model was used. Two adult
pigs (~80 kg) were anesthetized. The device was
introduced transapically and resection was
performed with ultrasound guidance.
3 RESULTS
The animal tests could conclude that the novel
Septulus device could be used: 1 – transapical access
through an introducer; 2 – Septum could be resected
in a controlled manner with ultrasound guidance; 3 –
The procedure was performed on beating heart with
hemodynamical stability; 4 – The transapical access
could be closed after the procedure; 5 – after the
experiment the animal could be sacrificed and the
outflow tract of the left ventricle could be examined
and a resection in the correct position had been
obtained (Figure 2).
Figure 1: The spetulus Device.
Figure 2: Resected tissue.
Bjursten, H. and Dencker, M..
A Novel Minimally Invasive Device (Septulus) for Treating Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.
Copyright
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 2015 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

4 DISCUSSION
The novel device for minimally invasive treatment
of HOCM seems to meet the expectation in terms of
efficacy and safety, and could therefore be future
option in treating patients with this condition.
REFERENCES
Maron B. J, Yacoub M., Dearani J. A. Controversies in
cardiovascular medicine. Benefits of surgery in
obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: bring septal
myectomy back for European patients. Eur Heart J.
2011;32(9):1055-8.
Maron B. J. Controversies in cardiovascular medicine.
Surgical myectomy remains the primary treatment
option for severely symptomatic patients with
obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Circulation.
2007;116(2):196-206; discussion