This procedure is also called the Batista procedure, after its inventor Dr. Randas Batista, a Brazilian heart surgeon, who developed this technique. When per-forming this procedure, a section of the left ventricular wall is removed. The remaining free edges are repositioned and sewed together. The mitral valve is also re-paired or replaced. This type of ventricular remodeling may allow some patients with dilated cardiomyopathy to avoid a heart transplant.
The procedure is not beneficial for people whose heart failure developed from coronary artery disease or a heart attack and is not done very often. Complication rates are very high and only about one third of patients experience any benefit from it. The results of studies on long-term improvement from this procedure are mixed to date. Because of this, the Batista procedure has fallen out of favor with both cardiologists and heart surgeons.