MITRAL-VALVE LACERATION AND PAPILLARY-MUSCLE RUPTURE SECONDARY TO PERCUTANEOUS BALLOON AORTIC VALVULOPLASTY

Percutaneous balloon aortic valvuloplasty (PBAV) has been used successfully as a palliative treatment in patients with critical aortic stenosis.1,2 These patients are often elderly and are not candidates for aortic valve replacement.3 Alternatively, PBAV has been used as a temporizing measure in patients with aortic stenosis and other medical conditions that need more urgent treatment.4 The procedure is typically performed by retrograde heart catheterization; however, anterograde transeptal PBAV has been reported, and may have a lower incidence of bleeding and arterial damage.5 This report describes mitral valve laceration and papillary muscle rupture associated with anterograde transeptal PBAV, a complication not previously reported. © 1992.