Balloon mitral valvuloplasty employing double transseptal puncture

Patients with mechanical aortic valve prostheses occasionally develop subsequent mitral stenosis and present as candidates for further intervention. Repeat thoracotomy in such patients carries considerable operative risk, but the traditional alternative of balloon mitral valvuloplasty with transaortic intraventricular monitoring is not feasible because mechanical aortic prostheses cannot be safely crossed at catheterization. We have therefore developed a technique for performing the procedure via double transseptal puncture. We present the technique and our experience of its use in four patients with mechanical aortic prostheses presenting for balloon mitral valvuloplasty.