Type of Surgery

Information

Last updated: 02/17/2009

Resources

BOOKS

Heart Owner's Handbook: Congenital Heart Disease and Diseases of the Heart Valves. Texas Heart Institute, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.

Mayo Clinic Practice of Cardiology: Balloon Valvuloplasty....

3rd ed. Edited by Emilio R. Giuliani, et al. St. Louis: Mosby, 1996.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Heart Association. 7320 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231. (214) 373-6300. .

OTHER

"Heart Valve Problems."Aetna Intelihealth. [cited April 2003]. .



 
PREVIOUS:

Advertisement

Search

Other Information

Balloon valvuloplasty is a procedure in which a thin tube (catheter) that has a small deflated balloon at the tip is inserted through the skin in the groin area into a blood vessel, and then is threaded up to the opening of the narrowed heart valve. The balloon is inflated, which stretches the valve open. This procedure cures many valve obstructions. It is also called balloon enlargement of a narrowed heart valve.

The procedure is performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory and takes up to four hours. The patient is usually awake, but is given local anesthesia to make the area where the catheter is inserted numb. After the site where the catheter will be inserted is prepared and anesthetized, the cardiologist inserts a catheter into the appropriate blood vessel, then passes a balloon-tipped catheter through the first catheter. Guided by a video monitor and an x ray, the physician slowly threads the catheter into the heart. The deflated balloon is positioned in the valve opening, then is inflated repeatedly. The inflated balloon widens the valve's opening by splitting the valve leaflets apart. Once the valve is widened, the balloon-tipped catheter is removed. The other catheter remains in place for 6 to 12 hours because in some cases the procedure must be repeated.


From https://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/balloon_valvuloplasty.jsp

Other Information

We are trying to balance those kinds of losses with the profitable side of business, which includes doing more cardiac surgeries. An emphasis has been placed on cardiac care because the medium age of residents is increasing, and more people are showing up with symptoms of heart disease.


-Kevin M. Spiegel

Find a Qualified Specialist

Looking for a specialist?

Please enter your zip code.