{"id":5651,"date":"2025-05-12T16:56:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/?page_id=5651"},"modified":"2025-12-05T19:49:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T19:49:22","slug":"evaluating-mechanical-biological-ross-procedure","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/evaluating-mechanical-biological-ross-procedure\/","title":{"rendered":"Surgeon Q&#038;A: Evaluating Mechanical Valves, Biological Valves &#038; The Ross Procedure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Patients diagnosed severe aortic valve disease have several options for treatment. The primary choices for intervention include a mechanical valve, a tissue valve or the Ross Procedure.<\/p>\n<p>To learn the pros and cons of each approach, we met with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Craig-Baker-Los+Angeles-California.php\">Dr. Craig Baker<\/a> who is the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at USC in Los Angeles, California. During his extraordinary career, Dr. Baker has performed over 5,000 cardiac surgeries with a principal focus on heart valve replacement procedures.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3PFsE_0ago4?rel=0&#038;si=JASDnxPDFz-RfA1U\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Pros and Cons of Mechanical Valves, Biologic Valves &amp; The Ross Procedure<\/h2>\n<p>Here are the key insights shared by Dr. Baker:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It\u2019s essential to consider the patient and not simply the procedure. \u201cI think when we talk to our patients in the clinic, we\u2019re not just thinking about the operation they\u2019re going to have,\u201d said Dr. Baker. \u201cWe\u2019re thinking about that patient\u2019s whole life, what their life expectancy is, and what their quality of life is going to be. Certainly, if you\u2019re 70 or 80 years old and I can put a tissue valve in you and expect one operation to last your whole life, then it\u2019s simple and a great solution.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Younger patients may consider a mechanical valve. \u201cLet\u2019s talk about the younger patient,\u201d said Dr. Baker. \u201cConsider someone who\u2019s 20 to 50 years old that, for whatever reason, has aortic valve disease and needs a replacement. Mechanical valves are great options, and in the absence of infection, they can potentially last a lifetime.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5654 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/Heart-Valve-Replacements.jpg\" alt=\"Types of Heart Valve Replacement Valves\" width=\"650\" height=\"361\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The use of life-long anticoagulants is critical for patients to consider before selecting a mechanical valve. \u201cThere is a requirement to take some form of anticoagulation every day for the rest of your life. That is a big commitment, and it also has serious risks\u201d stated Dr. Baker. \u201cI often tell my patients that it doesn&#8217;t seem too onerous when they\u2019re young and healthy. But let\u2019s say you\u2019re 60, 70, or 80 years old and have a bad hip or knee. Do you really want to have that commitment to be on anticoagulation your whole life? Oftentimes, the answer is no.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Younger patients can also choose from a tissue valve or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/ross-procedure-aortic-disease\">Ross Procedure<\/a>. Dr. Baker explained, \u201cAnother option is some type of biologic valve, which, as most patients know, is typically porcine or bovine. Those are great because you don\u2019t need anticoagulation. Unfortunately, the younger you are, the more tissue valves degrade over time. If I put a tissue valve in a 30 or 40-year-old, they\u2019re looking at another procedure in plus or minus 15 years. It may be a percutaneous procedure, or it may have to be another open-heart procedure.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5655 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/ross-procedure-drawing-1.jpg\" alt=\"Ross Procedure Drawing\" width=\"650\" height=\"364\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An advantage of the Ross Procedure is the utility of the patient\u2019s own tissue. \u201cThe nice thing about the Ross Procedure is it\u2019s your own tissue. We believe it can be a valve substitute that can last the entirety of your life without anticoagulation and hopefully avoid another procedure,\u201d stated Dr. Baker.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Adam Pick, the founder of HeartValveSurgery.com, underwent the Ross Procedure at Keck Medicine of USC and has had an extraordinary patient outcome. \u201cAs a Ross Procedure patient who has gone on to live an extraordinary life after you, your team, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Vaughn-Starnes-Los+Angeles-California.php\"> Vaughn Starnes, MD<\/a> helped me nearly 20 years ago, I\u2019ve had no re-operation and no reintervention,\u201d said Adam. \u201cI am so thankful that the Ross Procedure was a fit for me. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s the right fit for everybody out there, but I can\u2019t thank you enough for stressing all the options, the pros and cons, and considering the lifetime management of valve disease in response to this conversation.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Thanks Dr. Baker and Keck School of Medicine!<\/h2>\n<p>On behalf of all the patients in our community, thank you, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Craig-Baker-Los+Angeles-California.php\">Dr. Craig Baker,<\/a> for everything you and your team are doing at Keck School of Medicine at USC in Los Angeles, California!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Craig-Baker-Los+Angeles-California.php\">See Dr. Craig Baker\u2019s Interactive Surgeon Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/hospital\/usc-heart-valve-clinic-starnes\">Check out the USC Cardiac and Vascular Institute Microsite<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2025\/03\/07\/ross-procedure-facebook-live\/\">Discover the Ross Procedure Patient Education Center<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keep on tickin,<br \/>\nAdam<\/p>\n<p>P.S. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of our patient community, we have provided a written transcript of our interview with Dr. Baker below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"cms.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"class_list":["post-5651","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-ross-procedure"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5651"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6354,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5651\/revisions\/6354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}