VALUE OF PERCUTANEOUS MITRAL DILATATION • WITH THE MULTI-TRACK CATHETER SYSTEM. IN MITRAL STENOSIS WITH HIGH ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC SCORE

Abstract

Although rheumatic fever has become uncommon in developed countries in the past several years yet it remain a major disease in developing countries. Pure mitral stenosis represents one fourth of all rheumatic heart disease, while 40% have combined stenosis and regurgitation..

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) was first described in 1984 by Inoue et al, as a promising and an alternative new approach in management of rheumatic mitral stenosis, and replaced surgical commissurotomy.

In 1986, AI-Zaibag et al, introduced a new double balloon technique to increase mitral valve area and obtain better results. In 1995 to simplify the procedure and reduce the cost of mitral valvuloplasty a new technique of double balloon termed Multi-Track system was introduced by Bonheoffer. p. et al. A major drawback of this technique however, is the high cost of the balloon set which is designed for single use. To overcome this problem, many centers m the developing countries resterlies the balloon set at the expense of reduced performance of the balloon with repeated use.

In 1996, Cribier et al invented the Metallic valvulotome instead of balloon for opening of the mitral valve, it was tested in many center allover the world for the safty and resulrs In all centers, the resulting MYA was larger than the area obtained with any other'method for dilating the stenotic mitral valve. It has a lower cost than