Successful weaning from mechanical ventilation following balloon mitral commissurotomy.

Successful weaning from mechanical ventilation (MV) following percutaneous balloon mitral commissurotomy (BMC) is reported in a 59-year-old woman with severe symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis. The patient was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for acute respiratory failure secondary to pulmonary edema requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. After resolution of the acute phase, she became completely dependent on mechanical ventilatory support. In spite of the reinforcement of conventional therapy (diuretics, digitalis, vasodilators), weaning attempts were unsuccessful because of persisting elevated left atrial pressure. Percutaneous BMC was performed with favorable hemodynamic results, allowing the removal of external ventilatory support 24 h later and discharge from the Intensive Care Unit the same day.