Complex balloon mitral valvuloplasty.
With increasing operator experience, balloon mitral valvuloplasty, like complex coronary angioplasty, has been successfully attempted on patients with mitral stenosis complicated by a variety of factors, including severe pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid regurgitation, poor ventricular function, previous commissurotomy, extremes of age and suboptimal valve anatomy. Only this latter factor should be considered a major deterrent to BMV, at least in hospitals where the technique has been acquired and where balloon catheters are affordable.
Wisenbaugh
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Cardiology Department, Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.
D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans