Percutaneous double-balloon mitral valvotomy for rheumatic mitral-valve stenosis.

Percutaneous transatrial mitral valvotomy with a double-balloon technique produced striking symptomatic improvement in 7 of 9 patients with severe mitral stenosis. In 7 patients the mitral valve area (Gorlin formula) increased significantly and the mitral end-diastolic gradient fell significantly. Similar improvements were noted in follow-up haemodynamic studies at 6 weeks. There were no procedure-related complications. It is concluded that percutaneous double-balloon mitral valvotomy may be an alternative to surgical treatment for mitral stenosis.