Balloon valvotomy for pregnant patients with severe pliable mitral stenosis using the Inoue technique with total abdominal and pelvic shielding

The Outcomes of PBMV in Pregnancy, and When is the Best Time?

Background

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) is considered the most suitable option for managing symptomatic severe mitral valve stenosis (MS) during pregnancy with favorable anatomy. We do not know the best time to perform PBMV during pregnancy to achieve the best maternal and fetal outcomes. Therefore, we conducted this study to clarify the best procedure timing.

Methods

This prospective, observational, single-center study involved 44 pregnant patients suffering from symptomatic MS who underwent PBMV from May 2017 to May 2020. A detailed history is taken, full clinical examination, laboratory assessment, 2 D echocardiography, and follow-up during the hospital stay and monthly until labor.

Results

We found that the mean mitral valve area (MVA) had significantly increased from 1.12 ± 0.24 to 2.09 ± 0.46 cm² (P < 0.001). The mean pressure gradient across the mitral valve reduced from 17.22 ± 5.55 to 8.94 ± 3.75 mmHg (P < 0.001). The procedures were successful in 91% of the patients. Regarding obstetric outcomes, the incidence of preterm labor, fetal death, and composite adverse outcomes was significantly lower in patients who had the procedure during the second trimester than those who had the procedure during the third trimester. All preterm deliveries and intrauterine fetal deaths occurred at least 21 days after PBMV. The patients showed a statistically significant improvement in NYHA functional classification.

Conclusion

We can conclude that PBMV performed in pregnant patients is an effective and safe treatment modality, and we observed better obstetric outcomes achieved with early intervention during the second trimester.

Study of Effectiveness and Safety of Percutaneous Balloon Mitral Valvulotomy for Treatment of Pregnant Patients with Severe Mitral Stenosis

INTRODUCTION

In pregnant women mitral stenosis is the commonest cardiac valvular lesion. When it is present in majorly severe condition it leads to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. In mitral stenosis pregnancy can lead to development of heart failure.

AIM

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of balloon mitral valvulotomy (BMV) in pregnant females with severe mitral stenosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 30 pregnant patients who underwent BMV were included in the study from July 2011 to November 2013. Clinical follow-up during pregnancy was done every 3 months until delivery and after delivery. The mean follow up time after BMV was 6.72±0.56 months.

RESULTS

From the 30 pregnant females 14 (46.67%) and 16 (53.3%) patients underwent BMV during the third and second trimester of pregnancy respectively. The mean mitral valve area was 0.85+0.16 cm(2) before BMV that increased to 1.60+0.27 cm(2) (p<0.0001) immediately after BMV. Peak and mean diastolic gradients had decreased significantly within 48 hours after the procedure (p<0.001) but remained very much unchanged at 6.72 month period of follow-up. Two patients had an increase in mitral regurgitation by 2 grades.

CONCLUSION

During pregnancy BMV technique is safe and effective in patients with severe mitral stenosis. This results in marked symptomatic relief along with long term maternal and fetal outcomes.

Treatment of valvular heart disease during pregnancy for improving maternal and neonatal outcome

BACKGROUND

Valvular heart disease constitutes the majority of all causes of heart disease in pregnancy. In the presence of valvular heart disease, the necessary haemodynamic changes of pregnancy might cause heart failure, leading to severe maternal and fetal morbidity and even mortality. Treatment of valvular heart disease is indicated when patients experience a deterioration of symptoms and in case of a severe valvular lesion. Whether medical therapy or interventional therapy is the optimal treatment for both mother and child is unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To assess effectiveness and adverse effects of the different treatment modalities of valvular heart disease in pregnancy to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (31 March 2011), EMBASE (1980 to 23 March 2011) and the reference lists of background review articles.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled and cluster-randomised controlled trials comparing medical therapy with percutaneous or surgical intervention for the treatment of valvular heart disease in pregnancy.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We identified no (randomised) controlled trials to assess the effectiveness and adverse effects of the treatment of valvular heart disease in pregnancy.

MAIN RESULTS

There were no randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised controlled trials or cluster-randomised trials identified from the search strategy.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is insufficient evidence to define the most effective treatment of valvular heart disease in pregnancy to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.

The role of catheter balloon commissurotomy for severe mitral stenosis in pregnancy

Mitral stenosis is one of the more commonly seen valve lesions encountered in pregnancy. The pathophysiologic implications, management strategies, and a comprehensive review of literature over the past 20 years for optimal timing of catheter balloon commissurotomy during pregnancy are discussed. Mechanical relief of obstruction is indicated for cases of severe symptomatic mitral stenosis in pregnancy refractory to medical therapy. Catheter balloon commissurotomy is the procedure of choice in a select group of these patients with suitable valve morphology.

Treatment of severe mitral stenosis with percutaneous balloon valvotomy in pregnant patients

BACKGROUND

Pregnancy can cause life-threatening complications in women with mitral stenosis. Frequently, there is an urgent need to increase the mitral valve area mechanically. In selected cases, percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy (PMBV) has emerged as a safe and effective alternative to surgical commissurotomy.

HYPOTHESIS

The study evaluates the effects of PMBV by the Inoue technique in nine pregnant patients with severe symptomatic mitral stenosis.

METHODS

The patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II to IV and had echocardiographic scores of < or = 8. The mean gestational age was 24.8 +/- 6.1 weeks. The patient's pelvic and abdominal regions were covered with a lead apron to protect the fetus from radiation. A stepwise dilatation technique was used. Fluoroscopy time was kept to 10 to 15 min.

RESULTS

One patient developed severe mitral regurgitation requiring emergency valve replacement. The remaining eight patients showed marked immediate symptomatic and hemodynamic improvement. After dilatation, the transmitral pressure gradient decreased from 20.8 +/- 6.5 to 7.3 +/- 1.4 mmHg (p = 0.001) and the calculated mitral valve area increased from 0.9 +/- 0.1 to 1.8 +/- 0.4 (p < 0.001). All patients had uneventful term deliveries of normal babies. On follow-up they were in NYHA functional class I.

CONCLUSIONS

Percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy is a safe and effective procedure for selected pregnant patients with severe mitral stenosis. The procedure is well tolerated by the fetus. Severe mitral regurgitation requiring immediate surgery may occur occasionally. The possible harmful effects to the fetus from its exposure to radiation during PMBV are unknown.

Pregnancy in women with valvular heart disease

Patients with valvular disease who desire pregnancy or are already pregnant require specialised care. Ideally, women undergo preconceptual counselling that addresses any procedures needed to decrease the risks of pregnancy, including valve replacement, if the patient has symptoms at baseline. Management during pregnancy includes replacing any contraindicated medications with safer alternatives, optimising loading conditions, careful monitoring and aggressive treatment of any exacerbating factors. Rarely, percutaneous or surgical intervention is required during pregnancy. Labour and delivery often require invasive haemodynamic monitoring and a multi-disciplinary team for optimal maternal and fetal outcomes.

Percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty in pregnant women with mitral stenosis

Forty-four consecutive pregnant patients with mitral stenosis were submitted to percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) over a period of 12 years. The mean age was 28 +/- 6 years and the mean gestational age was 23 +/- 6 weeks. The mean mitral valve area had a significant increase from 1.17 +/- 0.26 to 2.06 +/- 0.41 cm(2) (P = 0.0000). The mean mitral valve gradient decreased from 16.22 +/- 5.55 to 7.94 +/- 3.75 mm Hg (P = 0.0001). The procedure was performed successfully in 95% of the patients and there were no major complications. Concerning labor and delivery, we evaluated 37 patients. Thirty patients (81%) reached term and delivered normal infants. Seven patients (18.9%) delivered prematurely, resulting in two fetal death; one patient delivered a stillborn. We concluded that PMV is a safe procedure for the treatment of mitral stenosis in pregnant patients, providing significant symptomatic relief and better clinical conditions for labor and delivery.

[The role of mitral valve balloon valvuloplasty in the treatment of rheumatic mitral valve stenosis during pregnancy]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the immediate results and the clinical evolution of a group of fertile age women with rheumatic mitral stenosis, in whom percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty was performed before or during pregnancy.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

Eighty-one women with mitral stenosis, submitted to balloon mitral vavuloplasty, were studied. They were divided into three groups, according to their desire of no further pregnancies (group A; n = 19), pregnancy during the follow-up (group B; n = 23) or valvuloplasty was performed during pregnancy (group C; n = 39). Patients from group B and C were controlled during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium, and the newborns of women in group C were followed from birth to the age of 5 years.

RESULTS

Mortality in the three groups was null and the incidence of miscarriage was 2 (8.6%) in group B and 3 (9.1%) in group C. Normal delivery was predominant in group B and delivery by caesarean was predominant in group B. Success was immediate in all the cases. The procedure was repeated in 3 women due to restenosis. The media valvar area rase from 0.93 to 2.05 cm2 in group A, from 1.28 to 2.04 cm2 in group B and from 0.84 to 2.14 cm2 in group C (intergroup p = NS). The functional class improved in the three groups of patients.

CONCLUSION

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty is an effective, efficient method for the treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis during pregnancy, after organogenesis, or at any time in a woman's life, as long as it is indicated according to clinical and echocardiographic evaluation criteria.

Percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy during pregnancy

Percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy was performed in 16 pregnant women aged 23 +/- 3 years (range, 16-39 years) who had severe mitral stenosis at pregnancies of mean gestational age 25 +/- 6 weeks. Ten patients were in New York Heart Association functional class III, and six patients were in functional class IV at the time of the procedure. All patients were symptomatic despite maximal medical therapy. The procedure was performed with the Inoue balloon. The mitral valve area increased from 0.9 +/- 0.3 to 1.8 +/- 0.3 cm2 (p < 0.05). The mitral valve pressure gradient decreased from 23 +/- 7 to 6 +/- 3 mm Hg (p < 0.05). The left atrial pressure decreased from 28 +/- 8 to 10 +/- 4 mm Hg (p < 0.05). The pulmonary artery pressure decreased from 59 +/- 18 to 33 +/- 12 mm Hg (p < 0.05). Fourteen patients continued their pregnancies to mean gestational age 37 +/- 2 weeks; all infants were healthy. Two patients had premature deliveries more than 1 month after the procedure due to obstetrical reasons. The two newborns died at day 2 of respiratory distress. Eleven women had vaginal deliveries and five had cesarean sections. All clinically improved to New York Heart Association functional class I or II. Excessive blood loss from the femoral puncture site that required transfusion occurred in one patient. Mitral regurgitation increased one degree in four patients, from 0 to 1+. Patients were observed until delivery. None had restenosis. The degree of mitral regurgitation remained unchanged. Percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy can be performed safely during pregnancy. It will effectively improve hemodynamics and symptoms in pregnant patients who have severe mitral stenosis and persistent congestive heart failure symptoms despite conventional medical treatment. There are no immediate detrimental effects of radiation on the fetus. Risks are lower than previously reported when surgical commissurotomy was performed.

Balloon Mitral Valvotomy in Pregnant Patient with Anomalous Inferior Vena Cava

Successful balloon valvotomy was performed by the Inoue technique in a pregnant lady with severe mitral stenosis and pulmonary edema. Total pelvic and abdominal shielding was used and a transseptal puncture was carried out through the left femoral vein because of an anatomically anomalous course of the inferior vena cava.

Valvular heart disease in pregnancy. A contemporary perspective

Valvular heart disease may have a significant impact on the course and outcome of pregnancy with implications for fetal as well as maternal health. Optimally, serious symptomatic valvular heart disease should be detected and treated before pregnancy. Whether a pregnant woman is known to have valvular heart disease or is diagnosed during pregnancy, it is imperative that she is managed by an experienced multidisciplinary team. Although medical therapy may alleviate symptoms of heart failure in some patients, definitive intervention either with percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty or with surgical valve replacement may be necessary.

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, first performed by Inoue in 1982, was a rational progression from 4 decades of experience with the blunt surgical dilatation technique of closed mitral commissurotomy. As with surgical commissurotomy, balloon valvuloplasty relieves mitral stenosis by the splitting of fused commissures. A series of studies have shown that balloon valvuloplasty achieves excellent acute hemodynamic results in close to 90% of patients, with a typical 100% increase in mitral valve area. Over the past 15 years since Inoue's first patient, a number of other techniques have been introduced and largely discarded in favor of the original approach. Advances have occurred along the lines of improved noninvasive assessment of mitral valve disease, which have allowed better case selection and prediction of outcome. Follow-up series have shown sustained improvement, with modest rates of complications and restenosis. Comparative studies have shown that balloon valvuloplasty is as effective and safe as surgical commissurotomy, and is a cost-effective procedure of first choice in ideal patients.

Percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy during pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy for the treatment of pregnant women with severe mitral stenosis over a period of six years.

DESIGN

Analysis of clinical, haemodynamic, and echocardiographic data before and immediately after the procedure, the pregnancy outcome, and the fate of newborn babies.

SETTING

Academic cardiovascular centre in Monastir, Tunisia.

PATIENTS

44 pregnant patients who underwent percutaneous transvenous dilatation of the mitral valve between January 1990 and February 1996. Grade 2 mitral regurgitation was present in two patients and densely calcific valves in three (7%).

RESULTS

Commissurotomy was successfully achieved in all cases. The total mean (SD) duration of teh procedure was 72 (18) minutes and that of fluoroscopy 16 (7) minutes. Left atrial pressure decreased from 28 (10) to 14 (7) mm Hg, mitral pressure gradient fell from 22 (8) to 5 (3) mm Hg. Cardiac output increased from 4.8 (1.1) to 6.3 (1.2) l/min and Gorlin mitral valve area from 0.96 (0.21) to 2.4 (0.4) cm2 (all P < < 0.001). Cross sectional echocardiographic mitral valve area increased from 1.07 (0.21) to 2.32 (0.36) cm2. There were no maternal or fetal deaths. Complications included a grade 4 mitral regurgitation in one patient that required early valve replacement. All patients delivered at full term, 42 vaginally and two (5%) by caesarean section; 41 babies were normal and three whose mothers had the procedure near term were relatively hypotrophic. At a mean follow up of 28 (12) months (range 2 to 26) all children had normal growth.

CONCLUSIONS

During pregnancy, balloon mitral commissurotomy is the treatment of choice of severe pliable mitral stenosis in patients who are refractory to medical treatment.

Controversies in balloon mitral valvuloplasty: the when (timing for intervention), what (choice of valve), and how (selection of technique)

Despite the established role of percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) in the treatment of mitral stenosis, major controversial issues in the realm of BMV persist. With increased operator experience, BMV has now been extended to include various controversial scenarios, such as mild mitral stenosis, adverse valve morphologies, and high-risk patients with concomitant anatomic distortions which are technically demanding. In skilled hands, however, BMV has yielded a favorable outcome in these settings. Furthermore, the debate on whether the Inoue or the double-balloon approach is superior continues. Studies to date have shown equal efficacy of the two BMV methods in terms of valve enlargement although the Inoue approach is clearly simpler to execute and may potentially be associated with a lower risk of creating severe mitral regurgitation. Last, because of the lack of consensus on optimal balloon sizing for BMV, perhaps the best method to adopt at this stage is one that is simple and safe to apply across a broad spectrum of valve anatomy.

Valvular heart surgery during pregnancy

The pathophysiology of mitral and valvular heart disease is presented with an emphasis on the relationship of these conditions to pregnancy. Management options are discussed. Special attention is directed to patients who have prosthetic valves in place and who become pregnant. The care of this group of patients may be difficult, and treatment strategies are presented.