Percutaneous Balloon Valvuloplasty
This figure presents a diagram of the catheter traveling up the vena cava, piercing the septum, and the balloon beginning to inflate a mital valve
Valvuloplasty is an alternative surgical procedure significantly less invasive than the open heart surgery required for a biological or prosthetic valve replacement. It's an effective treatment for any valvular stenosis.
In this procedure a deflated balloon on a catheter is threaded through a peripheral vein (normally near the groin) back into the valve in question. If the mitrial or aortic valve is the valve in need of repair, the doctor will pierce the atrial septum to reach it. The balloon is then inflated widening the stenoic valve, allowing more blood to flow though the heart with each beat. The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is removed.
In this procedure a deflated balloon on a catheter is threaded through a peripheral vein (normally near the groin) back into the valve in question. If the mitrial or aortic valve is the valve in need of repair, the doctor will pierce the atrial septum to reach it. The balloon is then inflated widening the stenoic valve, allowing more blood to flow though the heart with each beat. The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is removed.