Surgical valvotomy and repair for neonatal and infant congenital aortic stenosis achieves better results than interventional catheterisation

This interesting retrospective study compared the long-term results of surgical valvuloplasty and balloon valvuloplasty for congenital aortic stenosis in neonates and infants. During the study period, 86 patients underwent surgical valvuloplasty and 37 patients had a balloon valvuloplasty as first intervention. The two most important factors adversely related to long-term outcomes (including re-stenosis, re-intervention, and regurgitation) on multivariate analysis were having a balloon valvuloplasty as first procedure and undergoing initial treatment as a neonate. Freedom from reintervention at 10 years with surgery was 55% for neonates and 78% for infants. On the contrary, freedom from reintervention at 8 years with balloon valvuloplasty was 15% for neonates and 40% for infants. The authors concluded that despite the retrospective nature of this analysis (and the possibility of bias), surgical valvuloplasty is associated with better long-term outcomes than balloon valvuloplasty.