Contegra bovine jugular vein right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit in Ross procedure

Background In the Ross procedure a valved conduit, most commonly pulmonary or aortic homograft, is used in place of autotransplanted pulmonary valve. Increasing demand and diminishing supply of homografts has resulted in a search for alternatives. A biological conduit from the valved segment of bovine jugular vein (Contegra) has been used successfully as an alternative. Methods Early clinical and echocardiographic results were analyzed retrospectively for 20 patients (median age 14.4 years) who underwent a Ross procedure with Contegra as right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit between November and June 2003 (during the last 31 months). Results There was no operative mortality and late mortality or morbidity during the mean follow-up of 13.8 ± 9.1 months (range 1 to 31 months). No patient required reoperation. The median gradient at discharge was 16 ± 4.5 mm Hg, which remained unchanged at last follow-up. No deterioration in conduit or conduit valve function was noted. Conclusions This new bovine jugular vein conduit can be a viable alternative to a homograft in the Ross procedure. The early clinical and hemodynamic results are encouraging. Ease of availability and favorable handling and technical characteristics make it more attractive than a homograft. Xenograft origin of this conduit necessitates close follow-up for assessment of durability and longer-term results.