Current status of percutaneous valvular procedures

During the past few decades, percutaneous valvular procedures have been used in mitral and aortic stenosis. Percutaneous mitral commissurotomy, which has virtually replaced surgical commissurotomy in the treatment of mitral stenosis, has been performed since the mid-1980s and has provided good results in thousands of patients worldwide. Percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty has largely been abandoned due to its limited efficacy and the risks involved. New percutaneous procedures are currently being developed in mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis, which represent the two most frequent valve diseases in industrialized countries. They are in the early stages of development but have opened a very exciting field of investigation. Two percutaneous mitral valve treatment techniques have been used: the edge-to-edge technique and the prosthetic ring annuloplasty. Preliminary series show that they are feasible; however, they need to be further evaluated in comparison with contemporary treatment to accurately assess their effectiveness and the risks involved. Since 2003, percutaneous aortic valve replacement has been performed in approximately 100 compassionate cases with end-stage aortic stenosis, formally declined for surgery. It results in hemodynamic and clinical improvement, with an acceptable risk in this highly selected population. The evaluation of these new percutaneous procedures requires a close collaboration between interventionalists, echocardiographers, engineers, and surgeons. It is probable that they will play an important role in the treatment of valve disease in the future.