The early and medium-term results of the Ross procedure in pediatric patients

The Ross procedure is the preferred surgical treatment for pediatric aortic valve diseases, and its long-term outcomes have been extensively documented. This article presents the results of the Ross and Ross-Konno procedures performed on pediatric patients in our center.

Ross and Ross-Konno procedures were performed on 20 patients in our center between January 2015 and January 2019.

The patients' mean age was 10.6 years (range: 23 days to 18 years) and mean weight was 37.6 kg (range: 3-63 kg). Thirteen had aortic valve stenosis, four had aortic valve insufficiency, and three had a mixed disease. The Ross-Konno procedure was used for four patients. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 184.68±60.1 min and the mean cross time was 149±67.8 min. One neonatal patient died in the early postoperative phase due to low cardiac output. The mean follow-up time was 60.15±24.45 months. One patient later underwent reoperation due to conduit stenosis. One patient is being monitored for moderately serious conduit stenosis. At present, of those who underwent the procedure, one has moderate aortic regurgitation, two have mild or moderate aortic regurgitation, and others have minimal aortic regurgitation. No patients required intervention for left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and mortality was not observed in the long term.

The reintervention rates for autograft and conduit-related cases were low in early and medium-term follow-up, and no significant autograft insufficiency was observed. Ross or Ross-Konno surgery is preferred for aortic diseases in pediatric patients due to its low mortality and satisfactory long-term results.