Percutaneous Mitral and Aortic Balloon Valvuloplasty

Abstract

Before 1982, cardiac surgery was the conventional form of treatment for symptomatic stenotic valvular heart disease lesions. Today, percutaneous balloon dilatation of stenotic cardiac valves is being used in many centers for the treatment of patients with pulmonic, mitral, aortic, and tricuspid stenosis. Since its introduction in 1984 by Inoue et al. percutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy (PMV) has been used successfully as an alternative to open or closed surgical mitral commissurotomy in the treatment of patients with symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis. PMV produces good immediate hemodynamic outcome, low complication rate, and clinical improvement in the majority of patients with mitral stenosis. PMV is safe and effective and provides sustained clinical and hemodynamic improvement in patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis. The immediate and long-term results appear to be similar to those of surgical mitral commissurotomy. Today, PMV is the preferred form of therapy for relief of mitral stenosis for a selected group of patients with symptomatic mitral stenosis.