[Surgical treatment of terminal heart failure].

Terminal heart failure with no response to pharmacological treatment has been a challenge in medical practice: besides its deleterious effects on quality of life for all patients, it has a very high mortality rate. At present, surgical treatment of terminal heart failure consist basically in cardiac transplantation, which demands precise surgical indications, donor and receptor selection and adequate immunosuppression. Cardiac transplantation has contributed lower mortality rate and quality of life. Other surgical procedures that have been tried include cardiomyoplasty, partial left ventriculostomy (Batista's surgical procedure) and the use of several left ventricular mechanical devices.