New instrument for transvenous cardiac biopsy

A new forceps is described for obtaining serial endomyocardial biopsy specimens from the human heart. The instrument is introduced percutaneously into the right internal jugular vein and used to obtain tissue from the apex of the right ventricle. Eighty-five biopsy procedures have been performed in 19 patients after cardiac transplantation. The tchnique used was 100 percent successful in obtaining endomyocardial biopsy specimens, and there were no significant complications. A biopsy procedure may be performed within 5 minutes. Serial percutneous transvenous endomyocardial biopsies are now routinely performed with this instrument in new heart transplant recipients and in patients with primary cardiomyopathy.