{"id":6043,"date":"2025-08-06T20:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T20:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/?page_id=6043"},"modified":"2025-08-15T03:05:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T03:05:21","slug":"ross-procedure-candidacy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/ross-procedure-candidacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ross Procedure: Which Patients Are Candidates?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/ross-procedure-aortic-disease\">Ross Procedure<\/a> is an innovative surgical intervention for patients with severe aortic valve disease. This transformative operation replaces the patient\u2019s diseased aortic valve with his\/her own pulmonary valve. Then, a donor valve is implanted in the pulmonary valve position. Many young patients are now finding that it can be an attractive alternative to either a mechanical valve that requires lifelong anticoagulation or a tissue valve that will need to be replaced with a second operation after ten to fifteen years due to valve degeneration.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, critics argued that the Ross Procedure turned a one-valve problem into a two-valve problem. Now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/ross-procedure-patient-guide-starnes\/\">favorable data on patient survivability<\/a> and valve longevity are creating a strong resurgence in its popularity. \u00a0However, not every patient is a candidate for the Ross Procedure. Understanding the immediate and long-term consequences of this complex operation can help guide the decision-making process.<\/p>\n<p>To learn which patients are the best candidates for the Ross Procedure, Adam Pick, founder of HeartValveSurgery.com, met with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/surgeons\/dr-Craig-Baker-Los+Angeles-California.php\">Dr. Craig Baker<\/a>, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at USC in Los Angeles. Dr. Baker and his colleagues at the Keck School of Medicine have performed over six hundred Ross Procedures and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2025\/03\/07\/ross-procedure-facebook-live\/\">teach other surgeons this complex operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/orp_QNBh91A?rel=0?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><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Facts About the Ross Procedure and Patient Candidacy<\/h2>\n<p>Here are the key insights shared by Dr. Baker:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Younger patients and aortic valve disease. \u201cPatients should know that the Ross Procedure generally treats aortic valve disease,\u201d said Dr. Baker. \u201cThat is, typically calcific aortic stenosis, although with the \u201cInclusion Technique,\u201d it\u2019s also being used for patients with aortic regurgitation. It\u2019s a procedure we typically do in younger patients. There\u2019s really no strict age, but somewhere around 50 years old is a reasonable cutoff, although we\u2019ve done it in older patients. I think because it\u2019s typically done in younger patients, we often see patients with bicuspid aortic valves because they do present at a younger age.\u201d Dr. Baker explained that these younger patients can also include females of childbearing age who don\u2019t want to be on lifelong anticoagulation. He also said that it is a fantastic operation for children who need their aortic valve replaced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6048 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/ross-procedure-inclusion-criteria.jpg\" alt=\"Ross Procedure Inclusion Criteria\" width=\"650\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Patient constraints and those who may not be candidates. \u201cYou have to have a normal pulmonary valve,\u201d explained Dr. Baker. \u201cYou can\u2019t take out an abnormal valve from the right side of the heart and move it over to the left side and expect that it will do well. We always thoroughly inspect the pulmonary valve, and if there are any concerns about its integrity, we won\u2019t perform the procedure. Also, it is a very complex operation. It\u2019s much different than doing a standard aortic valve replacement with a mechanical or tissue valve. So, it\u2019s probably not for patients who may need multiple valves because they\u2019re already getting another kind of valve.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Considerations for a patient\u2019s health history. \u201cIt\u2019s probably best not to do in patients with a lot of comorbidities,\u201d said Dr. Baker. \u201cIf someone also has coronary disease and doesn\u2019t have the same life expectancy, we probably wouldn\u2019t consider them a candidate. The other group we worry about is patients with connective tissue diseases because we can\u2019t be sure what will happen to that valve.\u201d Dr. Baker explained that patients who are already on lifelong anticoagulation therapy for another reason, like a coagulation disorder, would not be candidates for the Ross Procedure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6047 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/ross-procedure-exclusion-criteria.jpg\" alt=\"Ross Procedure Exclusion Criteria\" width=\"650\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Baker\u2019s number one piece of advice for patients considering the Ross Procedure. \u201cI think the most important thing is that patients get informed,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should understand what the Ross Procedure is and whether they are good candidates for it. They also need to understand the complexity of the procedure and find a surgeon and a center that has experience in the Ross Procedure.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6046 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/baker-advice.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Baker's Ross Procedure Advice\" width=\"650\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Baker\u2019s advice for surgeons. \u201cI think for young surgeons out there, you should learn this procedure from somebody who has expertise in it and do your first few with somebody who can help guide you. It is a procedure, not like a standard bypass or valve operation that everyone learns during their training. It takes a special effort to learn this from someone like I did. Dr. Starnes taught me to do it, and then you can learn the right way to do it.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Thanks Dr. Baker and Keck School of Medicine of USC!<\/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 the Keck School of Medicine at USC in Los Angeles, California!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/ross-procedure-aortic-disease\">Discover The Ross Procedure Patient Education Center<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/ross-procedure-patient-guide-starnes\/\">Surgeon Q&amp;A: What Should Patients Know About the Ross Procedure?<\/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-6043","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\/6043","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=6043"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6145,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6043\/revisions\/6145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}