Complications following the ross procedure: cardiac MRI findings

Aortic valve replacement with a pulmonary autograft (ie, Ross procedure) is a technique used in selected cases for the treatment of aortic valve disease. Aware of reports describing chronic complications after the Ross procedure such as aortic insufficiency, right ventricular outlet obstruction, aortic autograft dilatation, and pulmonary allograft stenosis, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in individuals who had a previous Ross procedure (range 2 to 10 years earlier) to determine if these complications could be visualized by MRI. This case study presents the MRI findings of 5 patients (mean age: 42.0+/-7.8 years). In each patient, complications of the Ross procedure were observed. These results suggest that cardiac MRI has the potential to become a clinically important technique for evaluating post-Ross procedure patients.