I’m receiving a number of wonderful affected person questions concerning the Ross Process.
For instance… Tim, a affected person from the UK, simply requested me, “Hello Adam – Congrats on a terrific web site! I’ve a query concerning the Ross Process. Are you aware whether it is potential to do the Ross Process if there may be gentle leaking of the pulmonary valve? I do know gentle leaking of the pulmonary valve is quite common. Thanks!”
To supply Tim an professional response, I contacted Dr. Christopher Burke, a number one Ross Process surgeon from UW Drugs Coronary heart Institute in Seattle, Washington.
Dr. Christopher Burke
Minutes after sending Dr. Burke the query from Tim, my inbox lit up with a response from Dr. Burke.
Leaking Pulmonary Valves & The Ross Process?
Dr. Burke wrote in his e-mail:
Adam, That’s an excellent query from Tim. Many pulmonary valves have a small leak at baseline. That is regular and sometimes called “hint”. Nevertheless, often we see pulmonary valves which have a little bit extra leak than merely a physiologic leak. On this case, we’ll typically study the valve leaflets within the working room previous to taking out the pulmonary autograft to make sure the leaflets are wholesome sufficient for a Ross process. Briefly… It will depend on how a lot the valve is leaking at baseline in addition to the well being and geometry of the leaflets.
Ross Process Diagram
Repairing Pulmonary Valves Throughout The Ross Process?
After seeing this response, I had a follow-up query for Dr. Burke about whether or not or not the pulmonary valve is ever repaired previous to being positioned within the aortic place through the Ross Process. So, I requested Dr. Burke, “Have you ever ever executed a restore to a pulmonary valve previous to placement within the aortic place throughout a Ross Process? In his response, Dr. Burke said:
In extraordinarily restricted conditions. That is uncommon and never routinely carried out.
Pulmonary Valve Suitability For The Ross Process?
Lastly, I had one final query for Dr. Burke particular to the pulmonary valve. I requested Dr. Burke, “How typically, through the Ross Process, do you consider the pulmonary valve and decide it isn’t appropriate for placement within the aortic valve place?” Dr. Burke responded:
Good query… It’s fairly uncommon. Maybe 1-2% of the time. We normally have an excellent concept going into the operation.
Many Thanks Tim and Dr. Burke!
On behalf of our affected person neighborhood, many due to Tim for his query and Dr. Burke for sharing his medical experiences particular to the Ross Process!
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Carry on tickin!Adam