Legends
Figure 1. Chest radiographs and the brain natriuretic peptide
(BNP) levels before and after retrograde balloon aortic valvuloplasty
(BAV)
(A) Preprocedural chest radiograph at day 1 showing severe pulmonary
congestion with a butterfly shadow. (B) Postprocedural chest radiograph
at day 8 showing resolution of pulmonary edema.
Figure 2 . Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images of
aortic complex
Three-dimensional reconstruction of MDCT showing a severely calcified
aortic valve with left ventricular outflow tract calcification (A) and
aortic running (B). Multiplanar reconstruction of MDCT showing an aortic
annular area of 360.3 mm2 (C), sinus of Valsalva
diameter of 28.5 mm at the left coronary cusp, 28.0 mm at the right
coronary cusp, 30.5 mm at the noncoronary cusp (D), and sinotubular
junction maximum and minimum diameter of 25.7 mm and 25.0 mm (E).
Figure 3. Retrograde balloon aortic valvuloplasty using the
Inoue balloon
Fluoroscopic images showing an inflated proximal portion of Inoue
balloon (A), stable fixation of the Inoue balloon with its hourglass
shape (B), and a fully inflated Inoue balloon (C). (D) Polygraph showing
immediate recovery of blood pressure after balloon deflation. (E)
Pressure tracing before BAV showing a mean pressure gradient of 51.5
mmHg. (F) Pressure tracing after BAV showing a mean pressure gradient of
32.2 mmHg. AO = aorta, LV = left ventricle