USE OF THE NATIVE AORTIC-VALVE AS THE PULMONARY VALVE IN THE ROSS PROCEDURE

The placement of a foreign valve in the pulmonary position using the R oss procedure requires reoperation. To circumvent this problem, we dev ised a method of reimplanting the native aortic valve in the pulmonary position, and successfully performed this procedure in a 12-year-old diabetic boy operated on for the treatment of aortic insufficiency. Al though diseased, the reimplanted aortic valve functioned well, with tr ivial stenosis and insufficiency. This modification offers patients wi th aortic valve disease a potentially curative operation.