Pulmonary Valve Dilation

Abstract

Isolated valvar pulmonary stenosis (PS) is a relatively common lesion, and one of the most straightforward cases you will perform. Typically, the pulmonary valve leaflets are thin and compliant with partially fused commissures, resulting in a dome-shaped valve structure with a narrowed central orifice. Dysplastic pulmonary valves are somewhat less common and differ in that they have irregularly thickened (myxomatous) valve leaflets, often with little, if any, commissural fusion. Leaflet mobility is variably reduced and the valve annulus may be small. The natural history studies provided a wealth of data about the course of this disease (1).