title: Buddy balloon to deliver a percutaneous aortic valve device: a percutaneous shoehorn?
abstract: Percutaneous aortic valve replacement is performed with increasing frequency in patients with severe aortic stenosis at prohibitive surgical risk. Currently available devices are however in their early development stage, and are thus quite bulky with a large profile, with ensuing difficulties in delivery of the device through a stenotic aortic valve. We report hereby a case in which we employed a buddy wire and balloon technique as a "shoehorn" to enable accurate delivery of a balloon-expandable aortic valve prosthesis from the transfemoral route.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of Turin, S. Giovanni Battista Molinette Hospital, Turin, Italy. isheiban@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Imad
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sheiban
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Infantino
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bollati
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D019918:Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011859:Radiography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome