Ross Procedure Blog

By Adam Pick

“Can Leaky Pulmonary Valves Work for the Ross Procedure?” asks Tim

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Medical Expert: Christopher Burke, MD, Cardiac Surgeon, UW Medicine Heart Institute
Published: July 20, 2023

I’m receiving lots of excellent patient questions about the Ross Procedure.

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New Ross Procedure Research for Aortic Valve Patients To Consider

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: May 4, 2023

Given my experience with the Ross Procedure, I continue to get lots of great patient questions about this advanced form of aortic valve replacement.  Patients often ask me about the durability of the Ross Procedure, the life expectancy of the Ross Procedure, and what happens if a reoperation is needed in the future.

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“What About Ross Procedure Reoperations for the Aortic & Pulmonary Valves?” asks Joe

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: January 26, 2023

Given the renewed interest for the Ross Procedure – from patients in our community – I’m getting lots of excellent questions about this advanced form of aortic valve replacement. For example, Joe asked me, “Is it more common for the aortic valve or pulmonary valve to fail?” and “If the aortic or pulmonary valve fails, can a transcatheter valve replace the failing valve without an open-heart procedure?”

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Patient Email: “Are Ross Procedure Patients at Higher Risk for Endocarditis?” asks Sara

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 26, 2022

I just received a fantastic question from Sara, a Ross Procedure patient, in response to an article about endocarditis and heart valve disease featuring comments from Dr. David Kaczorowski, a leading cardiac surgeon from UPMC.  Her question is about the statement, “If you have an acquired valve disease, artificial heart valve, congenital heart disease, or have a history of valvular disease, monitoring your health for endocarditis symptoms is especially important.”

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Patient Quiz: What Just Happened to Andy’s Heart Valves in Dr. Burke’s Operating Room?

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 2, 2022

Many thanks to Andy Dial, an avid 33-year-old fisherman from Puyallup, Washington, for sharing the amazing picture (below) from inside the operating room at UW Medicine Heart Institute in Seattle. So you know, Andy was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, aortic stenosis and Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome.  In addition, Andy’s aorta began to dilate over the years.

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Reed Is “Changed” Thanks to the Ross Procedure & Dr. Starnes!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: February 1, 2022

There is nothing better than hearing from patients about their personal journeys to healthy hearts. For example, I just got a wonderful email from Reed about his successful Ross Procedure with Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Keck Medicine of USC. (As you might recall, Dr. Starnes performed my Ross Procedure over 15 years ago.)

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8-Year Old, Grant, Gets Successful Ross Procedure Thanks to Dr. Starnes!

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Published: August 30, 2021

Since starting HeartValveSurgery.com in 2006, I’ve been fortunate to speak with thousands of patients about heart valve disease. 

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Patient Webinar: “Advantages of the Ross Procedure” with Dr. Stelzer & Dr. El-Hamamsy

By Adam Pick on November 12, 2020

[Update: The webinar, held on November 18, was fantastic!!! You can now download the free eBook or watch the webinar video at this link.]

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After Ross Procedure Success, Elizabeth Runs to Support Heart Disease Patients!

By Adam Pick on May 26, 2020

When courageous patients transform medical lemons into lemonade, I want you to know about it.

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Research Update: Are There Advantages of the Ross Procedure?

By Adam Pick on August 29, 2018

The first time I heard about the Ross Procedure I was skeptical. My first thought was, “What???!!!  You want to play musical chairs with my heart valves?  No way!!!”  Then, the more I learned about this unique procedure for patients with aortic valve disease, I started thinking, “Hmmm.  That might be the operation for me.”

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Special Announcement: Register Now for the Ross Procedure Webinar Hosted by Dr. Paul Stelzer on October 3

By Adam Pick on September 22, 2013

I am very excited to announce that Dr. Paul Stelzer and I will host a live webinar titled, “The Advantages of the Ross Procedure”, on Thursday, October 3 at 1pm EST. As many of you know, Dr. Stelzer has used the Ross Procedure to treat many patients in our community — including Jeff Shebovsky, Chris Dixon, Mark Kroto, Peter Woglom — that were diagnosed with aortic valve disease.

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Special Video Interview: The Advantages of the Ross Procedure with Dr. Paul Stelzer & Peter Woglom

By Adam Pick on July 23, 2013

I receive a lot of questions about the Ross Procedure from patients with aortic valve disease. For that reason, I traveled to New York to film an educational video with Dr. Paul Stelzer, a leading Ross procedure surgeon, and Peter Woglom, one of his patient success stories.

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Understanding The Ross Procedure with Dr. Peter Skillington

By Adam Pick on February 25, 2013

Lately, I have received a lot of patient questions about the Ross Procedure — a unique type of aortic valve replacement surgery.

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Surgical Innovation: Valve Wrapping Techniques Used During The Ross Procedure With Dr. Paul Stelzer

By Adam Pick on August 24, 2012

I’ll never forget my 3-week check-up when Dr. Starnes, my heart surgeon, said to me, “Adam, the post-operative echocardiogram shows that your heart is doing excellent… Plus, we wrapped your pulmonary valve during the procedure, so you should benefit from that over time.” In the moment, I didn’t question Dr. Starnes about my wrapped pulmonary valve. To be honest, I didn’t care. I just wanted to hear that my heart was doing well after my double heart valve replacement surgery.

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“Can The Ross Procedure Help Bicuspid Aortic Valve Patients?” Asks James

By Adam Pick on June 17, 2012

I just received a great email from James about the Ross Procedure and a diseased bicuspid aortic valve.

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Patient Spotlight: Chris Dixon Heads To New York For Ross Procedure

By Adam Pick on February 24, 2012

After one of the most active spotlights in Heart Valve Journals’ history, Mitch Friedman has moved on to healthy, heart pumping pastures. 🙂

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After Ross Procedure, John Keeps On Tickin’ And… Rockin’

By Adam Pick on January 17, 2011

It’s always fun to hear from patients as they recover from heart valve surgery and return to their life passions. Today, I received a fantastic email from John Coleman in Arkansas. John writes:

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