Additive Manufacturing in Rare Pathologies Within Cardiothoracic Surgery: Left Ventricle Aneurysm After Viral Myocarditis

Conference Abstract: Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has been utilized within the field of cardiac surgery for pre-surgical planning, patient education, device innovation, and simulation. Especially in cases in which a patient’s pathology is rare or complex, 3D models can improve the surgeon’s understanding of the spatial relationship between critical structures. Left ventricle (LV) aneurysm is an out-pouching and thinning of the left ventricle muscle which most often occurs at the apex of the heart after myocardial infarction. 3DP for pre-operative planning prior to LV aneurysm surgery has been used to predict post-surgical left ventricle volume after reconstruction with complete revascularization. It has also been used to determine the best approach for endovascular occlusion of a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm. We describe a case of left ventricular aneurysm in a young woman located at the intraventricular septum occurring after a case of viral myocarditis. This is the first case of the surgical repair of such an aneurysm described in the medical literature. A 3D model was created pre-operatively and allowed for visualization of the relative location of the aneurysm to critical nearby structures including the papillary muscles and left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. This aided in determining the optimal location to incise the left ventricle to properly expose the aneurysm for repair without compromising papillary muscle geometry or injuring the coronary artery. In this presentation, we will review this specific case as well as the process for using additive manufacturing for the planning of rare or complex cardiothoracic surgical procedures.