Balloon valvuloplasty for critical aortic stenosis in two infants.
Critical aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a difficult clinical condition. Besides supportive medical care, relief of the stenosis is most important to the patients' survival. We present two cases using transcatheter balloon valvuloplasty in managing critical AS in young infants. Case 1 was a 2 month-old female infant. She presented with cardiopulmonary failure. Aortic annulus was 8 mm and the aortic valve was dilated with a 6 mm and then an 8 mm diameter balloon. The pressure gradient was reduced from 83 to 13 mmHg. Case 2 was a 7 day-old male infant. Aortic annulus was 6.7 mm and the aortic valve was dilated with a 6 mm diameter balloon. The pressure gradient was reduced from 87 to 44 mmHg. Both patients tolerated the procedure well. No major complications developed except that a transient weak femoral pulse was noted in case 1. In our limited experience, balloon valvuloplasty is a safe and effective therapeutic choice for managing critical AS in young infants. The advantages include no need of bypass or general anesthesia, shortened hospital course, reduced exposure to blood product, and no scar.
Lin
Ming-Chih
MC
Department of Pediatrics, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160, Sec. 3, Chung-Kang Road, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
Fu
Yun-Ching
YC
Jan
Sheng-Ling
SL
Chi
Ching-Shiang
CS
D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016896:Treatment Outcome