Dynamic cardiomyoplasty: perspectives on nursing care and collaborative management.

Historically, heart transplantation has served as the definitive treatment of choice for patients with end-stage heart failure. Unfortunately, heart transplantation is not available to all patients because of the scarcity of donor allografts and strict patient selection criteria. Dynamic cardiomyoplasty is an experimental alternative to heart transplantation for the treatment of severe congestive heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy. The procedure involves the use of an autologous latissimus dorsi muscle graft that is wrapped around the ventricles by pericardial attachment. The muscle graft is then stimulated by specialized synchronous train impulses from a cardiomyostimulator; the resultant muscle graft contractions provide support for ventricular function. This article describes collaborative, preoperative, immediate postoperative, and long-term management of patients receiving dynamic cardiomyoplasty. As members of the health care team, nurses are in a unique position to develop care standards and facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration for the care of this complex patient population.