Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty: Are chinese and western experiences comparable?

Long-term results of percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty for mitral stenosis: A follow-up study to 11 years in 202 patients

“…Subsequent modifications in catheter design enabled percutaneous introduction of the catheter through the femoral vein, and the procedure was named percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty [21]. Since then, this method has been used extensively worldwide as an alternative to surgical mitral commissurotomy [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…PBMV is the procedure of choice in symptomatic women with mitral stenosis during pregnancy, because it avoids thoracotomy and the risks of anesthesia and surgery for both the mother and fetus. Because the fluoroscopic time is considerably less with the Inoue balloon catheter technique than the double-balloon catheter technique, it is the preferred method in order to minimize the radiation hazard to the fetus [2,3]. However, because of the potential teratogenic risk to the fetus from any amount of irradiation, the procedure should preferably be postponed until 5 months after conception, when organogenesis is complete [3].…”

“…Since Inoue et al [1] introduced the technique of balloon dilation of the stenotic mitral valve in 1984, percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) has gained increasing acceptance worldwide as an alternative to surgical mitral commissurotomy [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Although several series of late results have appeared in the recent literature [6][7][8][9][10], reports of long-term follow-up (FU) beyond 10 years have not been published to our knowledge.…”

Editorial comment: How to avoid cardiac tamponade during percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

“…Left ventricular perforation does not occur with the Inoue balloon catheter because of its low profile and the absence for the need of a guidewire in the left ventricle. Furthermore, because of the nature of the Inoue balloon catheter, it always pulls itself away from the apex of the left ventricle toward the mitral valve and maintains its position at the mitral valve orifice during inflation [8]. Therefore, the patient never runs the risk of left ventricular perforation by the Inoue balloon catheter.…”

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty with Inoue balloon is applicable to all age groups

“…Although percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) with the Inoue balloon catheter has become an established method of treatment for mitral stenosis in adults, including pregnant women [1] and elderly patients [2], reports of this technique in children have been rather scarce. Therefore it is very gratifying to read two recent reports [3,4], both from India, on its use in children.…”