{"id":2892,"date":"2022-11-16T04:06:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T04:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/?page_id=2892"},"modified":"2023-09-27T18:56:38","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T18:56:38","slug":"ross-procedure-reoperations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/ross-procedure-reoperations\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Procedure Reoperations: What Should Patients Know?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ross Procedure<\/a> is an advanced form of aortic valve replacement for patients with aortic valve disease.\u00a0 During this unique operation, developed by Dr. Donald Ross in the 1960s, the patient’s defective aortic valve is replaced by the patient’s own pulmonary valve.\u00a0 Then, a homograft (donated human tissue) is placed in the patient’s vacant pulmonary valve position.<\/p>\n

As we have learned, the Ross Procedure is the only form of aortic valve replacement that provides patients the advantages of living tissue within the aortic position.\u00a0 We have also learned that the Ross Procedure can provide patients excellent long-term results<\/a>.\u00a0 (On a personal note, I had the Ross Procedure performed 17 years ago. Since then, I have had no problems.)<\/p>\n

Given the Ross Procedure benefits, patients are still curious to know what happens if one or both of the replaced valves fail. For example, Joe recently 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?”<\/p>\n

To answer these important questions, I interviewed Dr. Michael Ibrahim<\/a>, a leading cardiac surgeon and Ross Procedure specialist from Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.\u00a0 During his career, Dr. Ibrahim has performed over 1,000 heart valve procedures including many Ross Procedures.<\/p>\n

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