A balloon catheter is a soft catheter with an inflatable balloon at the tip that is used to widen a narrow opening or passage in the body during catheterization. A deflated balloon catheter is placed, then inflated to perform the necessary procedure, then deflated again for removal.
Some common uses include:
● Angioplasty or balloon septostomy, by heart catheterization (cardiac catheterization)
● Salpingoplasty by uterine catheterization
● Pyeloplasty uses a removable inflatable balloon stent positioned through a cystoscopic transvesicular approach.