[Catheter balloon valvuloplasty in mitral stenosis (choice of surgical methods and evaluation of its results)].

Clinico-experimental study was undertaken for the choice of the optimal method for radiosurgical correction of the disease. Catheter balloon valvuloplasty (CBV), suggested by V. A. Silin and V. K. Sukhov with the use of balloon catheters of their design was found to be the most effective and safe method. This method was used to operate on 265 patients with mitral stenosis and various degree of affection of the valvular apparatus and complications in the form of calcinosis of the valve and cardiac fibrillation. Thirteen of the patients were operated on in pregnancy. CBV produced a positive therapeutic effect in more than 95% of patients. Increase of the mitral orifice area by 2.2-3.4 times was attended by a corresponding reduction of the diastolic pressure gradient at the mitral valve and systolic pressure in the pulmonary artery. The increase in the area of the mitral orifice and the positive changes of the hemodynamics values were more marked in patients with severe stenosis. The small number of complications (up to 9.5%) and the low lethality (up to 0.86%) allow the CBV method to be recommended as one of the main methods of surgical correction of mitral stenosis.