The advantages of on-line transesophageal echocardiography guide during percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential advantages of on-li ne transesophageal echocardiography during percutaneous balloon mitral valv uloplasty (PBMV). One hundred thirty-four consecutive patients who underwen t PBMV were included in this study. Group 1 included 64 patients who underw ent PBMV under fluoroscopy guide only, and group 2 included 70 patients who underwent PBMV under on-line transesophageal echocardiography guide. Inoue balloons were used in all cases. The mitral value area after valvuloplasty was comparable between the 2 groups. The procedure time was significantly shorter in group 2 (99 +/- 48 min vs 64 +/- 22 min, P <.0001), and the aver age fluoroscopy time was shorter in group 2 without statistical significanc e (30 +/- 17 min vs 19 +/- 15 min, P = .25). five (7.8%) patients in group 1 and 2 (2.8%) patients in group 2 underwent surgery because of procedure-r elated complications. The Limitation of this study was the learning curve o f the operator, because the 2 groups were treated serially. In conclusion, transesophageal echocardiography can be used effectively during balloon mit ral valvuloplasty, and it may help to reduce the rate of complications resu lting from trans-septal catheterization and balloon valvuloplasty and to re duce procedure time and fluoroscopy time.