Abstract
BACKGROUND: Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty is the treatment of choice for clinically significant native mitral valve stenosis, however there have been limited reports of successful balloon valvuloplasty for bioprosthetic mitral valve stenosis. CASE SUMMARY: A 44-year-old woman presented with decompensated heart failure and severe bioprosthetic mitral valve stenosis. She developed cardiogenic shock and was deemed at prohibitive operative risk. Urgent percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty was performed, resulting in hemodynamic stabilization and improvement of mitral valve area to 1.6 cm(2). DISCUSSION: A literature search identified 16 cases of balloon valvuloplasty of bioprosthesis degeneration in the mitral position; nearly all patients, as in our case, experienced symptom improvement. TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty for bioprosthetic mitral valve degeneration and stenosis can be a valuable salvage strategy in highly selected patients with severe hemodynamic compromise as a bridge to definitive surgical treatment.