?:definition
|
-
Valvuloplasty cardiac catheters that usually consist of a tube carrying two side-by-side balloons (bifoil catheter), typically 4 cm long, that can be inflated separately or at the same time and include a pigtail tip. Typically, a guide wire is peripherally inserted and advanced into the heart (e.g., left atrium). Then, the bifoil-balloon catheter is advanced over the guide wire and directed across the stenotic valve; both balloons are inflated quickly to a predetermined maximal outer diameter, thereby enlarging the valve orifice. Bifoil-balloon valvuloplasty catheters are mostly used for nonsurgical dilation of stenotic mitral valves.
|