- Treatment depends on “age of presentation” as well as on “severity of obstruction”.
- Newborn babies with severe aortic stenosis are generally present in shock and will need urgent balloon dilatation of aortic valve after birth.
- Child with mild to moderate obstruction, generally child is asymptomatic and needs medical follow-up at periodic intervals.
- In severe obstruction, patient needs immediate intervention for resolving the obstruction.
- In Valvular aortic stenosis, treatment of choice is to do ‘’Balloon dilatation of Aortic valve’’.
Balloon procedure details
- This procedure is done in cardiac cath lab by angiographic technique without open heart surgery.
- This procedure generally done by using femoral artery (groin vessel), but sometimes, we use axillary arteries (this is a retrograde method, in this we cross the valve from above).
- Valve needs to be crossed by wire and catheters followed by balloon dilatation of aortic valve. In bigger children and adolescents, we use pacing catheter in right sided ventricle for stabilizing the balloon during its inflation.
Is this procedure safe?
- Majority of these procedures are safe.
Dr Gaurav Agrawal is a Pediatric Cardiologist (Child and Fetal heart Specialist). Dr Agrawal is a pediatrician who has specialized training in the treatment of various child heart related problems (neonates to 18 years of age). He is also having a vast experience in fetal echocardiography.
He is one of the very few pediatricians in India who practices pediatric cardiology exclusively. Cardiac problems in children are common in children, sometimes life threating and often not diagnosed properly. Early diagnosis and timely treatment is very important. Areas of specific interest include child echocardiography including fetal echocardiography, diagnostic and therapeutic cardiac catheterization (pediatric cardiac holes closure by device, opening of obstructed cardiac valves by balloons etc).