Perioperative and long-term outcomes of bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in patients with refractory ventricular arrhythmias

Background: Bilateral cardiac sympathetic denervation (CSD) performed via video-assisted thoracoscopic (VAT) surgery shows potential in managing ventricular tachycardia (VT), thereby reducing arrhythmic burden. In this setting, the scarcity of studies addressing both perioperative and long-term outcomes creates a substantial gap in the optimal management of patients with multiple comorbidities and limited treatment options. This observational study aimed to assess the medical comorbidities, as well as the short- and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent CSD for VT refractory to catheter ablation and medical therapy at a referral tertiary teaching hospital.

Materials: We retrospectively analyzed data of all patients with VT who underwent bilateral CSD-VAT surgery at a single center. Unadjusted Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated to analyze the survival rates at 1-year and 2-years following the procedure.

Results: Ten consecutive patients were unrolled between August 2014 and March 2024. Bilateral CSD-VAT surgery was successfully performed in all patients. Pre-operative ejection fraction was 33 % (26-41). Two patients (22 %) suffered cardiogenic shock and 1 vasoplegia. Half (50 %) of the patients necessitated inotrope/vasopressor support and 1 an intra-aortic balloon pump. Median hospital stay was 12 (9-19) days. Three (33 %) patients required postoperative ICU admission. All patients were alive upon hospital discharge. Neither major surgical complications nor complications typically associated with VAT-CSD (e.g., Horner's syndrome) were observed. The 1-year survival was 80 % while the survival at 24 months was 60 %.

Conclusions: CSD-VAT is a feasible rescue treatment in patients with refractory VT and is associated with limited intra- and postoperative complications alongside an acceptable long-term survival rate.