Karsten's Posts

Hi! I had the Ross Procedure way back in 1994 in my 20's in Los Angeles. I saw on your story that you mentioned an aortic aneurysm as well. I'm assuming it's an ascending aortic aneurysm (just above the valve)? Will they be repairing that at the same time? I too was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and developed my 6cm aortic aneurysm at age 33 that needed repair with a Dacron tube ( from the valve all the way through the arch ) and a new bioprosthetic valve. The aneurysm is the only reason the Ross Procedure needed another surgery (because it stretched the valve) so it's good if you are getting the aneurysm fixed now at the same time. Be sure to ask about that! Good news is my Dacron tube is perfect still ( and likely always will be) and so is my donor pulmonary valve from the original Ross Procedure (almost 30 years later). So, in my opinion, if you address the aneurysm too then you shouldn't have any problem with the Ross Procedure lasting a very, very long time (maybe forever).

Great to hear you've advocated for yourself. I initially found the Ross procedure on my own through research articles and heart surgery guidelines, then happened by luck to get a consult with an excellent Ross surgeon in LA as the earliest appointment I could find. I'm just over three months post-op and in many ways I feel better than I did before surgery. Good luck and look forward to following your story. There are a number of us on here that have had a Ross Procedure including Adam Pick the founder of this site.