Ross Procedure Statistics - Success, Failure, Reoperations

When I was formally diagnoed with severe aortic stnenosis, I also learned that I would need aortic heart valve replaced. Following my diagnosis, I spent a tremendous amount of time evaluating many heart valve replacment options. I considered porcine valves, bovine valves and mechanical valve replacements.

Then I heard about the advantages of the Ross Procedure Surgery and became very interested about the possibility of having my pulmonary valve switched to my aortic position. (As the Cleveland Clinic notes, the Ross Procedure is also referred to as the Switch Procedure.) Still, I wanted to know more about the success rates of the Ross Procedure.

I conducted some research and found that the long-term statistics on the Ross Procedure can be confusing depending on who is reporting the results.

Without going into all the data I located, there are some well documented Ross Procedure statistics:

• Overall, 85% to 90% freedom from reoperation at 10 years.
• Approximately 75% to 80% freedom from reoperation at 20 years.

In fact, data from Donald Ross, the inventor of the Ross Procedure, showed freedom from re-operation at 75% twenty-five years after surgery. Bear in mind that much of this data was developed before homograft-wrapping techniques were implemented.

Dr. John Oswalt from Austin, Texas reports that his Ross Procedure patients are 92% free from reoperation seventeen years after surgery. Dr. Paul Stelzer from New York has reported similar success after four hundred and twenty Ross Procedure surgeries.

Dr. Ed Raines, in Lincoln, Nebraska has had to redo 3% of Ross Procedure surgeries during the past ten years due to dilation of the root (prior to wrapping). Plus, Dr. Raines has not had a homograft fail yet.

My Experience With The Ross Procedure? I had my Ross Procedure surgery on December 21, 2005 performed by Dr. Vaughn Starnes at the USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.

> Next: To learn about the Ross Procedure Surgery for aortic valve replacement, please click here.