Surgery to repair valves in the heart without opening the heart.
Dilation of a heart valve to relieve stenosis by balloon dilatation during cardiac catheterization or surgery.
A minimally invasive, nonsurgical procedure for treating stenosis (narrowing) of a heart valve; also known as balloon valvuloplasty. For a valvuloplasty, the doctor makes a small incision, usually into the groin, to expose an artery or vein, and then threads a catheter (thin tube) through the blood vessel into the heart. When the catheter reaches the narrowed valve, a balloon at its tip is inflated to open the narrowed valve. The balloon is then deflated and the catheter is withdrawn. Valvuloplasty is used most often to treat stenosis of the mitral valve.
An operation to repair or reconstruct a defective heart valve. It may be done as an open-heart procedure (with the patient temporarily connected to a heart-lung machine that maintains the circulation of oxygenated blood); alternatively, valvuloplasty can now be performed using a specially designed balloon-ended catheter passed through the skin into a blood vessel and on to the heart. The balloon is inflated and the flaps of a narrowed (stenosed) valve are prized apart.
Plastic or restorative surgery on a valve, especially a cardiac valve.
Surgical repair or reconstruction of a malfunctioning heart valve is known as valvuloplasty. This can be done through traditional open-heart surgery, but there’s also a less invasive option called balloon valvuloplasty. In this method, a balloon catheter is inserted through a small incision in the skin into a blood vessel and guided to the heart. The balloon is then inflated via the catheter to separate the fused flaps of the constricted valve.