Monday, March 23, 2009

What is the Ross Konno Operation?

It's complicated, (as well as a complex surgery) but in layman's terms it means that they will take out his diseased aortic valve and replace with his own pulmonary valve. He will then get a pig valve in the place of the pulmonary valve. The reason for trading valves is because the pulmonary valve get less 'traffic' and is better able to handle the pig valve in it's place rather than the high traffic aortic valve.

If you think you can handle the medical explanation here it is:
The Ross-Konno procedure is an excellent technique for the treatment of complex multilevel left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with severe annular hypoplasia and a dysplastic aortic valve. The operation can be performed earlier in life, thus avoiding repeated surgical reinterventions, which may provide only short-term palliation and potentially exacerbate ventricular function. The Ross-Konno procedure increases our therapeutic choices for neonates or infants with critical aortic stenosis, who show unacceptable results following open valvotomy or balloon valvotomy. The pulmonary autograft demonstrates durability without the likelihood of developing aortic stenosis or progressive dilatation and a low incidence of developing aortic insufficiency. Despite the technically demanding nature of the operation, the Ross-Konno procedure is the method of choice for the multilevel type of left ventricle outflow tract obstruction, especially in newborns and infants.

2 comments:

mel said...

Thank you for your blog i am currently waiting for my special needs 6 and a half year old daughter to finish her 3rd major open heart surgery - this time a ross-konno procedure

Unknown said...

My 3 months old child has a ross konno planned after a month. I hope everything goes well.