Experience with 169 patients less than 25 years old and operated on at the Mayo Clinic for congenital aortic stenosis is reviewed. Aortic valvotomy is primarily a palliative procedure, allowing adequate relief of the transaortic valve gradient in only 56 percent of patients and leaving a severe gradient in 20 percent. A low operative mortality justifies its use in patients having valid cardiac ...

IN THE rediscovery period of mitral surgery, beginning with the efforts of Harken and associates' and Bailey,2 3 it was clearly demonstrated that even a moderate increase in the size of the mitral orifice would improve the physiologic status of the patient considerably. However, as time went on it was apparent that finger fracture alone was not sufficient for many badly scarred and calcified va...

BACKGROUND For neonates with critical aortic valve stenosis who are selected for biventricular repair, valvotomy can be achieved surgically (SAV) or by transcatheter balloon dilation (BAV). METHODS AND RESULTS Data regarding 110 neonates with critical aortic valve stenosis were evaluated in a study by the Congenital Heart Surgeons Society from 1994 to 1999. Reduced left ventricular function w...

While mitral stenosis is still frequently encountered despite the large decline in the incidence of acute rheumatism, combined mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis is less common. The recognition of the existence of aortic stenosis in association with mitral stenosis is important, as both can be dealt with successfully at one operation. If the aortic lesion goes undetected and mitral valvotomy a...

Surgical treatment of pulmonary stenosis has frequently been evaluated by the reduction of pressure gradient across the valve. In only a few patients, however, have exercise tolerance and haemodynamic response to muscular work been reported both before and after operation. Johnson (1962) compared the findings in 7 patients after pulmonary valvotomy with those in 8 patients without operation. A ...

A case of a 12-year-old boy who had double false aneurysms of the right ventricle after incomplete closed pulmonary valvotomy six years earlier is presented. The aneurysms were successfully treated surgically, and the aetiology is discussed.

IN THE rediscovery period of mitral surgery, beginning with the efforts of Harken and associates' and Bailey,2 3 it was clearly demonstrated that even a moderate increase in the size of the mitral orifice would improve the physiologic status of the patient considerably. However, as time went on it was apparent that finger fracture alone was not sufficient for many badly scarred and calcified va...

It is now more than ten years since the introduction of mitral valvotomy. The initial results (Baker, Brock, and Campbell 1950; Baker et al., 1952) and a three-year follow-up of the first 45 Guy's cases (Baker et al., 1955) have been published. We now report a larger group of 200 patients followed up for over five years, which allows a more complete assessment of the long-term benefits of mitra...