Failure to deflate balloon - A rare complication after successful percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) is standard treatment for suitable cases of mitral stenosis with success rate of more than 90% in various studies. It is occasionally associated with complications like mitral regurgitation, systemic embolization and cardiac tamponade. We hereby report an extremely rare and unexpected complication of deflation failure of PBMV balloon. The balloon was perforated with the reverse end of 0.025″ spring tip wire in order to deflate it. This technique avoids the need of open-heart surgery and complications related to non-deflating balloon.