"Balloon valvulotomy" of congenital pulmonary valve stenosis with tricuspid valve insufficiency.

The rare congenital anomaly of pulmonary valve stenosis and massive tricuspid valve insufficiency with intact ventricular septum is a lethal condition without reported survival after attempted treatment. In a neonate suffering from this syndrome, the pulmonary valve stenosis was relieved by rupturing the fused valve with a balloon catheter introduced transvenously. The desperate condition of the patient quickly improved after this procedure, with subsequent disappearance of the tricuspid valve incompetence. Balloon rupturing of fused valves at angiography may represent a therapeutic alternative in cases in which surgical valvulotomy is associated with a high mortality.