Percutaneous valve therapies.

Recent innovations have occurred in the treatment of valvular heart disease so that we now stand at the very beginning of a field that is likely to show considerable growth in the future. These innovations include the introduction of self-expanding and balloon-expandable stents containing bioprosthetic heart valves, and other valvular implants and techniques for the repair and treatment of valvular heart disease. Previously, the field of nonsurgical cardiac valve repair and replacement consisted solely of the use of balloon valvuloplasty for valvular stenosis. The ability to address aortic stenosis more definitively than with balloon valvuloplasty and to address regurgitant valve lesions will greatly expand the patients who can be treated without surgery. Percutaneous valve repair and replacement is at an early stage with a variety of techniques that are undergoing investigation. Similar to the initial development of balloon angioplasty for coronary artery disease, improvements in technology, techniques, and experience will be necessary before we can reproduce the excellent results achieved today with surgery.