It’s known as the Ross Procedure, or a “Switch Operation”.

“You take your own human pulmonic valve and put in the aortic position,” explains Dr. Randal Buss, a cardiothoracic surgeon on the medical staff of Lee Memorial Health System. For children and young adults dealing with aortic valve failures, this is quickly becoming a popular replacement method.

“So, you transfer a valve in the patient and put a homograph in the other position and that’s another procedure done in young children,” adds Dr. Buss. By repositioning the pulmonary valve, this allows the valve to grow, develop, and function as an arotic valve while the child grows.

Problems associated with an aortic valve can go unnoticed, no matter what the age. That’s why checking the heart during a routine physical is important. “It’s a very clear murmur. It’s a bulldog murmur, and the physicians, once they hear the murmur, will generally get an echocardiogram to evaluate the severity,” says Dr. Buss.

The actual Ross Procedure is very time consuming since it involves replacing two valves around the heart. That’s another reason why it’s recommended in younger patients, since they can withstand lengthy surgeries.