valvulotomy
Noun: A surgical procedure involving an incision into a narrowed (stenosed) cardiac valve to relieve the obstruction and improve blood flow.
"Valvulotomy" is a highly specialized medical term. It is used almost exclusively in clinical, surgical, and academic contexts to describe a specific type of heart valve surgery. * The surgeon performed a valvulotomy to treat the patient's mitral stenosis. * Percutaneous balloon valvulotomy has become a common minimally invasive technique.
The term is often modified to specify the valve involved or the surgical approach: * Mitral valvulotomy: An incision into the mitral valve. * Pulmonary valvulotomy: An incision into the pulmonary valve. * Balloon valvulotomy (or valvuloplasty): A procedure where a catheter with a balloon is used to widen the valve, often preferred over open surgical incision.
- Valvotomy: A synonym for valvulotomy, often used interchangeably.
- Valvuloplasty: A related but broader term for repairing a valve, which can include procedures to widen it (like balloon valvuloplasty) or reconstruct it.
- Commissurotomy: A specific type of valvulotomy where the fused leaflets (commissures) of a valve are cut.
- Valvotomy
- Valve incision
"Valvulotomy" has only one specific meaning in modern medical English: the surgical cutting of a heart valve. It is not used in a general or figurative sense.
- incision into a stenosed cardiac valve to relieve the obstruction