Pulmonary stenosis refers to a narrowing of the pulmonary valve. Normally, deoxygenated blood flows from the right ventricle through the pulmonary valve to the lungs to be oxygenated. In the event of pulmonary stenosis, the right ventricle must work harder to pump all of the blood through the stenotic valve. This may result in a thickening of the right ventricular wall (hypertrophy).
Standard treatment is a balloon valvuloplasty. This procedure involves the insertion of a heart catheter through a vein in the leg leading to the heart. A balloon at the tip of the catheter is positioned over the stenotic valve and inflated to stretch open the valve. In rare cases the child may require surgical repair.
View an animated heart with Pulmonary Stenosis