The adult congenital heart unit at the Freeman hospital has joined a multi-centre study, the REVIVAL study, designed to compare the Ross procedure with other surgical options for aortic valve replacement. 

Heart valves help control blood flow through the heart and, if diseased, may need to be replaced. There are different methods for doing this, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. In young adults, replacing the aortic heart valve with a mechanical valve can reduce life expectancy. Mechanical valves tend to form blood clots so they need long-term blood thinners which themselves can cause bleeding and lower quality of life. Animal tissue valves reduce clotting and bleeding risks but wear out sooner and shorten patient life-span. An operation, called the Ross procedure, replaces a patient’s diseased aortic valve with his/her own pulmonary valve and uses a donor valve in the pulmonary position which receives less stress than the aortic valve. The Ross procedure aims to improve valve durability with less clotting whilst avoiding use of blood thinners. REVIVAL is a research study investigating the efficacy and safety of the Ross procedure compared to conventional valve replacement. Specifically we are interested in learning the number of patients who survive without a life-threatening valve related complication, long term postoperatively.

For more information contact: mohamed.nassar2@nhs.net