Transumbilical venous,anterograde, snare-assisted balloon aortic valvuloplasty in a neonate with critical aortic stenosis

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty is an acceptable alternative to surgery in the treatment of critical aortic stenosis in the neonate. In this report, we describe a 1-day-old infant with critical aortic stenosis who was successfully treated with an anterograde, transumbilical venous, snare-assisted balloon aortic valvuloplasty. Based on this experience, it is suggested that the anterograde transumbilical venous approach is a feasible and effective alternative to retrograde femoral, carotid, or umbilical arterial and transfemoral venous anterograde routes for performing balloon aortic valvuloplasty in the neonate. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Diagn. 45:144–148, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.