High-pressure balloon valvuloplasty in small dogs with severe pulmonary stenosis: retrospective evaluation of the Mustang™ Balloon Dilatation Catheter in 12 dogs.

The Mustang™ high-pressure balloon catheter is feasible and effective for valvuloplasty in small dogs with type B pulmonary stenosis.

This retrospective study evaluated the use of the Mustang™ Balloon Dilatation Catheter for balloon valvuloplasty (BV) in 12 small-breed dogs with severe type B or intermediate-type pulmonary stenosis (PS). Standard low-pressure balloon catheters are effective for type A PS, but type B PS—characterized by dysplastic, thickened valve leaflets—often requires high-pressure catheters. A key challenge in small dogs is vascular access, as many high-pressure catheters require large introducer sheaths incompatible with small femoral vessels. The Mustang™ catheter addresses this limitation by accommodating smaller introducer sheath sizes. The median patient weight was 3.05 kg, and a 6-Fr introducer was used in 10 of 12 dogs. The median pulmonary annulus diameter was 7.0 mm, with a balloon-to-annulus ratio of 1.4. Following BV, the mean pulmonary pressure gradient decreased significantly from 168 ± 46 mmHg to 56 ± 25 mmHg (P<0.0001), representing a clinically meaningful reduction. Intraoperative complications were recorded but not detailed in the abstract. Study limitations include the retrospective design, small sample size, and assessment of only immediate post-procedural outcomes without long-term follow-up. Despite these limitations, the authors conclude that the Mustang™ balloon catheter is a feasible and potentially beneficial option for BV in small dogs with severe type B or intermediate-type PS, expanding interventional cardiology options for this challenging patient population.

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