The results of surgical valvuloplasty differ for mitral and aortic valves. Surgical valvuloplasty (commissurotomy) for mitral stenosis is currently a well-established and commonly used treatment for symptomatic patients with mitral stenosis. Similar attempts at repair of aortic stenosis have been largely unsuccessful. Surgical valvuloplasty for aortic stenosis has, for this reason, been abandoned in favor of valve replacement. Initial attempts at aortic balloon valvuloplasty were, therefore, undertaken in patients who were not surgical candidates; these initial efforts in a small number of patients, coming as they did in the wake of abandoned surgical attempts, were surprisingly successful in reducing gradients and increasing valve area without complications such as embolism or significant regurgitation.