Aortic constriction accounts for about 5-8% of all types of congenital heart disease, often combined with other congenital heart malformations, clinical manifestations of congestive heart failure and other symptoms, leading to irreversible hypertension in the long term, and in adult patients can cause cerebrovascular accidents. The disease should be treated as early as possible once it is detected, and the traditional treatment is mainly surgery to widen the narrowing patch of the open thoracic aorta, resection of the stenosis, or artificial vascular bypass grafting. The surgical risk is high, and the incidence of restenosis and aneurysm after surgery is high. For patients with simple aortic stenosis, percutaneous interventional aortic stenosis balloon dilatation or CP-stent placement is preferred. The procedure does not require open-heart surgery and is performed with the patient fully awake under local anesthesia, which results in a short operative time and immediate stenosis relief, early treatment can effectively avoid the occurrence of long-term irreversible hypertension and significantly improve the patient’s symptoms, with a short hospital stay and low cost. It is also suitable for patients with restenosis after the first open-heart surgery, avoiding the risk of second open-heart surgery. The CP stent applied intraoperatively is shown in the figure, and it is a platinum-polytetrafluoroethylene stent. During the operation, the stent was punctured through the femoral artery as shown in the schematic diagram, and after the stenosis site was clearly identified by imaging, the stent and the dilating balloon were delivered to the stenosis site, and the stent was dilated and released. The effect of the procedure is immediate, and the patient is fully awake during the procedure without significant pain, and no wound is left after the procedure. Also the application of CP stent can effectively avoid the occurrence of distant restenosis and aneurysm. Common patient questions 1. Which patients are suitable for aortic stenosis balloon dilation-stenting? All patients with simple aortic stenosis can be treated with balloon dilation-stenting. Pediatric patients can undergo balloon dilation only to facilitate growth and development. All adult patients can be treated with stenting. 2.Can other intracardiac malformations be combined? When aortic stenosis is combined with other intracardiac malformations, patients need to choose open surgery to correct all malformations in one stage or staged surgery according to their specific conditions. In staged surgery, aortic stenosis can be treated by balloon dilation and stenting first, and intracardiac malformations can be treated in the second stage. Staged surgery can avoid complicated surgical operations such as deep hypothermia stopping circulation during the first stage surgery, which greatly reduces the risk and mortality of the first stage surgery. 3.Can hypertension be effectively controlled after surgery? Most patients’ blood pressure can be effectively controlled after surgery, but some patients need to continue to take antihypertensive drugs. According to a large number of case reports, the risk of cerebrovascular accidents due to hypertension after surgery is significantly reduced. 4.How much does it cost? At present, the cost of balloon dilation-stenting is about 40,000-80,000 RMB, among which the cost for patients who only need balloon dilation is less than 40,000 RMB and the cost for patients who need stenting is about 80,000 RMB. Patients are eligible for reimbursement by medical insurance or the New Agricultural Cooperative Fund. 5.How long is the hospital stay? For aortic narrowing balloon dilation and stenting, patients usually need to be hospitalized one day before surgery and can be discharged 2-3 days after surgery. Therefore, the average hospital stay is about 3-5 days. 6.Do I need to take medication after surgery? Generally, patients only need to take medication for a short period of time and do not need to take medication for a long time after surgery. 7.Do I need to operate again? The success rate of this technology is close to 100%. Pediatric patients can undergo balloon dilatation again as they grow and develop, and stent placement in adults if necessary. Adult patients generally do not require reoperation. After surgery, we recommend monitoring blood pressure and annual follow-up cardiac ultrasound or CTA if necessary. We have established long-term follow-up records for each patient in our hospital and provide long-term follow-up health guidance for each post-operative patient.