Balloon valvuloplasty for recurrent aortic stenosis after surgical valvotomy in childhood: immediate and follow-up studies.

The immediate and intermediate-term effects of balloon valvuloplasty were assessed at cardiac catheterization in nine children with recurrent stenosis after a previous surgical aortic valvotomy. At valvuloplasty the patients ranged in age from 0.35 to 16 years and had undergone surgical valvotomy 0.3 to 12.5 years previously. Balloon valvuloplasty immediately reduced the peak systolic aortic stenosis gradient by 53%, from 88 +/- 9 (mean +/- SEM) to 41 +/- 6 mm Hg (p = 0.004). The left ventricular systolic pressure was reduced from 189 +/- 8 to 157 +/- 8 mm Hg (p = 0.001) and the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure from 17 +/- 1 to 14 +/- 2 mm Hg (p = 0.025). The heart rate and cardiac index remained unchanged. Before valvuloplasty, one patient had 1 + and two patients had 2+ aortic insufficiency. In six of nine patients, balloon valvuloplasty caused no change in the degree of valvular insufficiency. Two patients had a 1 + increase (from 0 to 1 + insufficiency in both), and one patient with no insufficiency developed 2+ aortic insufficiency. Elective follow-up catheterization was performed 0.8 to 2.5 years (mean 1.5 +/- 0.2) after valvuloplasty. At follow-up, the peak aortic stenosis gradient remained significantly reduced from the gradient before valvuloplasty (37 +/- 5 versus 85 +/- 10 mm Hg, p = 0.002). The gradient had not changed significantly from that measured immediately after valvuloplasty (37 +/- 5 versus 38 +/- 5 mm Hg, p = 0.75). At follow-up, aortic insufficiency had decreased from that immediately after valvuloplasty in three patients and had increased in two.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)