title: Percutaneous mitral commissurotomy: technique, results, and selection of patients.
abstract: Fifteen years of experience with percutaneous valve dilatation for mitral stenosis have shown the following: it is an effective treatment in a wide range of patients; its risk is low when it is performed by experienced teams, and more than 10 years follow-up demonstrates excellent durability of the procedure; the prediction of the immediate and long-term results is multifactorial and based on clinical and anatomic variables which should be taken into account when selecting the candidates for the procedure. Today balloon commissurotomy is a substitute for surgical commissurotomy and a complement to valve replacement.
authors.affiliation: Bichat Hospital, Paris, France. alec.vahanian@bch.ap-hop-paris.fr
authors.forename: Alec
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vahanian
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Luxereau
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brochet
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cormier
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Iung
mesh_terms: D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000628:therapy*; D018579:Patient Selection; D016896:Treatment Outcome