Percutaneous Balloon Valvuloplasty Compared with Open Surgical Commissurotomy for Mitral Stenosis

Percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy (valvuloplasty), first described in 1984, 1 has had good short- and intermediate-term results 2 – 6 . In a randomized trial in patients with favorable anatomical features, 7 we reported that the outcome of balloon valvuloplasty was similar to that of closed surgical commissurotomy. Although the superiority of open over closed commissurotomy in patients with ideal valvular anatomy remains controversial, 8 open commissurotomy (which allows the inspection of the valve and the separation of fused chordae under direct vision) is the preferred treatment for severe mitral stenosis in most industrialized nations 9 . We therefore compared the results of percutaneous balloon mitral . . .