Percutaneous transseptal mitral valvotomy--progress report

Percutaneous transseptal mitral valvotomy (PTMV) has been established as an alternative to surgery in the treatment of mitral stenosis.

To review our experience in the first 200 attempted PTMV procedures in patients with mitral stenosis, and the short and medium term follow-up.

PTMV was attempted on 200 occasions in 189 patients with significant mitral stenosis between May 1988 and May 1994. There were 156 females and 33 males, mean age 53.5 years (range 14 to 83 years). Six patients were pregnant at the time of the procedure.

Valve split was achieved at the initial attempt in 183/189 procedures (97%). Clinical improvement of at least one New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was achieved in 172/189 patients (91%). The mean mitral valve gradient (mean +/- SD) decreased from 11.5 +/- 5.1 mmHg to 4.9 +/- 4.1 mmHg, mean cardiac output rose from 3.9 +/- 1.1 L/minute to 4.4 +/- 1.4 L/minute and mean calculated mitral valve area increased from 1.0 +/- 0.3 cm2 to 2.1 +/- 0.9 cm2. Ten patients developed clinically significant mitral incompetence requiring surgical mitral valve replacement. There were two transient cerebral embolic events. Small atrial septal defects were detected echocardiographically in 42 patients, but none has been a clinical problem. There were no early deaths; there were 11 late deaths, four of which were non-cardiac. Twenty patients have had repeat PTMV for re-stenosis, four to 67 months after the first.

PTMV provides significant haemodynamic and clinical improvement with low risk and should be considered the treatment of choice in patients with mitral stenosis.