135. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Balloon Valvuloplasty Registry Participants. Multicenter experience with balloon mitral commissurotomy. NHLBI Balloon Valvuloplasty Registry Report on immediate and 30-day follow-up results. Circulation. 1992;85:

Commissural fusion is now recognised as the principal pathology underlying mitral stenosis, and commissural splitting underlies successful interventional treatment. Although the technique of surgical commissurotomy was first described as early as 1948, percutaneous commissurotomy became a feasible option with the advent of the Inoue balloon in 1984. Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PB...

This study evaluated the mechanism of valvular area expansion during singleand doubleballoon valvuloplasty in fibrotic and calcific mitral valves. Special interest was focused on the morphological features of the valves treated. Mitral valves that appeared unsuitable for commissurotomy were excised in toto at the time of mitral valve replacement in 15 patients. The excised valves were mounted i...

Background. Percutaneous retrograde nontransseptal balloon mitral valvuloplasty is a new technique developed in our institution for opening a stenotic mitral valve. This technique is based on a new, externally steerable cardiac catheter that enters the left atrium retrogradely via the left ventricle. Methods and Results. The technique was used in 86 consecutive patients (18 men and 68 women; me...

Introduction Percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV) is the treatment of choice for significant mitral stenosis (MS). The inability to cross the mitral valve accounts for a non-negligible rate of unsuccessful PMBV. This may be caused by unfavorable septal puncture or extensive enlargement of the left atrium (LA), both resulting in insufficient support. Advanced valvular and subvalvular...