Transcatheter versus surgical valve replacement for a failed pulmonary homograft in the Ross population

Patients who undergo the Ross procedure are at increased risk of pulmonary valve (PV) homograft dysfunction. For those who require reintervention on the homograft, transcatheter PV replacement (tPVR) provides a less invasive therapeutic option than surgical PVR (sPVR). We examined the outcomes following tPVR versus sPVR in a cohort of patients who underwent the Ross procedure.

We performed a retrospective analysis of Ross patients age ≥14 years who underwent tPVR (n = 47) or sPVR (n = 41) at our institution. The patients' clinical and echocardiographic data were reviewed.

Baseline parameters, including demographic data and left ventricular and right ventricular (RV) systolic function, were similar in the 2 groups. The mean follow-up was 56 ± 24 months for the tPVR group and 89 ± 46 months for the sPVR group (P < .001). No procedure-related mortality was noted in either group. At 6-year follow-up, there was no significant between-group difference in event-free survival (tPVR, 79% ± 7% vs sPVR, 91% ± 4%; P = .15) or PV reintervention (tPVR, 26% ± 9% vs sPVR, 8% ± 5%; P = .31). PV-associated infective endocarditis (IE) was significantly more common with tPVR (tPVR, 13% vs sPVR, 0%; P = .04), with an annualized rate of 2.98% per patient-year. In addition, there was a trend toward more valve dysfunction following sPVR (sPVR, 67% ± 8% vs tPVR, 35% ± 8%; P = .08).

In Ross patients who require reintervention on the PV homograft, both tPVR and sPVR provide low procedural mortality and comparable midterm outcome with no significant difference in mortality or PV reintervention. However, IE is more common following tPVR. A larger randomized study is needed to determine the role of each procedure in patient management.