title: The Externally Supported Ross Operation: Early Outcomes and Intermediate Follow-Up.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The externally supported Ross (supported Ross), consisting of a Dacron (DuPont, Wilmington, DE) graft to support the neoaortic root, has been used in adolescent and adult patients to prevent neoaortic dilatation. Outcomes after the supported Ross technique were compared with the Ross procedure using the standard aortic root replacement technique (standard Ross).
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective analysis of 36 adolescent and young adult patients who underwent the Ross procedure between 1992 and 2013. The outcomes of supported Ross procedures in 26 patients were compared with the Ross procedure in 10 patients. End points included survival, neoaortic root dilatation, development of neoaortic regurgitation, and the need for reintervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age at operation was 14 years (range, 11 to 31 years), and indications for the operation were mixed lesions (47%), followed by aortic regurgitation (42%) and stenosis (11%). There were no early deaths. The mean follow-up was 2.2 years (range, 1 to 11 years). At the 1-year (p = 0.01) and 3-year (p < 0.05) follow-up, patients in the supported Ross cohort had a smaller neoaortic root z-score. Neither cohort had a large number of patients with significant neoaortic regurgitation, with 1 patient in the supported cohort compared with 3 patients in the standard cohort. Overall, 4 patients (40%) in the standard Ross cohort had required reintervention, including 3 directed at the neoaortic root. One patient in the supported Ross cohort required early reintervention for revision of the right coronary artery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At intermediate follow-up, patients who underwent the supported Ross technique were less likely to have neoaortic root dilatation compared with patients who underwent a standard Ross procedure. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term durability of this technique, particularly in regards to the development of significant aortic regurgitation, the rate of reintervention, and application to younger and smaller patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Electronic address: rjacobsen@chw.org.
authors.forename: Roni M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Earing
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Garick D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Ronald K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Tweddell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000601:surgery*; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery; D001024:Aortic Valve Stenosis / Q000601:surgery; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011664:Pulmonary Valve / Q000637:transplantation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D058017:Vascular Grafting; D055815:Young Adult