DETERIORATION AFTER MITRAL VALVOTOMY

Abstract

It is now more than ten years since the introduction of mitral valvotomy. The initial results (Baker, Brock, and Campbell 1950; Baker et al., 1952) and a three-year follow-up of the first 45 Guy's cases (Baker et al., 1955) have been published. We now report a larger group of 200 patients followed up for over five years, which allows a more complete assessment of the long-term benefits of mitral valvotomy and of the incidence of restenosis and other causes of deterioration.