title: Success determining factors in percutaneous transluminal balloon valvuloplasty of pulmonary valve stenosis.
abstract: Twenty-two percutaneous transluminal balloon valvuloplasty procedures were performed on 21 patients with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis. The peak systolic pressure gradient was immediately reduced from 79.1 +/- 7.4 to 22.2 +/- 1.8 mmHg, (P less than 0.0001) and follow-up cardiac catheterization at 5.3 +/- 0.4 months in 19 patients revealed no further significant change in gradient (23.5 +/- 3.2 mmHg). The best results were obtained when balloons larger than the pulmonary annulus were used, i.e. an immediate residual transvalvular gradient of 22.0 +/- 2.2 mmHg with a balloon/annulus ratio greater than 1, as opposed to 44.2 +/- 5.4 with a balloon/annulus ratio = 1 (P less than 0.001). The angiographically determined cusp thickness of the stenotic pulmonary valves was significantly greater than that of the control group of 24 patients without pulmonary valve stenosis (1.21 +/- 0.09 vs 0.59 +/- 0.02 mmHg, P less than 0.00001). The relationship between this parameter and the residual transvalvular gradient at follow-up was found to be significant (r = 0.77, P less than 0.001). It is concluded that balloon size is a determinant factor in achieving good results with percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty although cusp thickness, a factor to which scant regard has hitherto been paid, also plays a significant role in the residual transvalvular gradient measured at follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melgares
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Prieto
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Azpitarte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011666:Pulmonary Valve Stenosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors