Ismail El-Hamamsy explains long-term outcomes of the Ross procedure in cardiac surgery

Long-term outcomes data for patients undergoing the Ross procedure confirm that it is an effective treatment option for younger patients, according to Ismail lsmail El-Hamamsy, MD, PhD, director of aortic surgery for the Mount Sinai Health System. He spoke with Cardiovascular Business about new data showing the procedure might be a better option for some heart patients than mechanical valves or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

The advanced surgical technique for aortic valve disease replaces the diseased valve with the patient’s own pulmonary valve, and then a donor valve is used to fill the pulmonary position. El-Hamamsy said the living valve works much better as a long-term replacement than a mechanic, bioprosthetic or cadaver valve.

"The Ross procedure replaces the patient's diseased aortic valve, but instead of using a biological valve or a mechanical valve, what we do is we borrow another valve in the heart, the pulmonary valve. I want something that is living. I want something that is the patient's own, autologous, and that looks exactly like a normal aortic valve that has three leaflets that open and shut."