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A 6-year experience of the Ross procedure in children with congenital aortic valve disease

Background: The choice of an optimal method for correction of aortic valve stenosis or insufficiency remains the matter of debate. Some clinicians prefer transluminal balloon angioplasty, some would perform an open type commissurotomy, or aortic valve replacement, or to valve leaflets repair with various materials, while others opt for the Ross procedure. Each of these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages both in the early postoperative period and in the long-term.Aim: To assess the results of the Ross procedure, its complications, survival, and probability of reoperations in the long-term.Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed the results of 32 Ross procedures performed from the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2019 in children aged from 3 days to 18 years. Eight children were below 1 year of age, including one newborn. A pulmonary autograft was placed into the aortic position in all children. In 31 children, a homograft was placed into the pulmonary artery. In one patient, an aortic autograft was implanted instead of the pulmonary artery valve. The mean patient age was 6.8 years, mean bodyweight 27.7 kg (range, 3.9–74.6 kg).Results: Two patients died in the early postoperative period (mortality 6.25%). We examined 26 patients at the follow-up, with its mean duration of 2.5 years. There were no indications for replacement of the homograft during the follow-up. One patient, in whom we had implanted an aortic autograft into the pulmonary position, required its replacement after 4.5 years. We have no data on death rates in the long-term.Conclusion: The Ross procedure provides satisfactory results in the early and intermediate postoperative period. Continuous follow-up is needed to determine the time points and the proportion of repeated interventions with a pulmonary homograft and aortic valve.