Pulmonary valvuloplasty in a pregnant woman using sole transthoracic echo guidance: technical considerations

Mohammed Omar Galal1, Shehla Jadoon2, Tarek Sulaiman Momenah2

  • 1King Fahad Medical City, Prince Salman Heart Center, Pediatric Cardiology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Pediatric Cardiology, University of Essen, Kinderklinik, Essen, Germany.

An 18-year-old pregnant woman with severe pulmonary valve stenosis and exertional dyspnea underwent balloon dilation during pregnancy using sole echocardiographic guidance to protect the baby from radiation. The main technical difficulty encountered was during advancement of the catheter across the right ventricular outflow tract into the pulmonary valve. This was overcome using a wedge balloon catheter over a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) wire. Using echo guidance, the balloon was positioned across the pulmonary valve and inflated. Pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty can be performed safely using sole transthoracic echocardiography guidance without fluoroscopy.