Aortic valve replacement (non-Ross)
There are a number of types of replacement operations.

·Ross
The aortic valve is removed and replaced by the patient's pulmonary valve (this is known as an autograft).
The pulmonary valve is then replaced with a preserved human pulmonary valve, known as a homograft.)

·Mechanical
The mechanical valve has the advantage of the longest durability and the lowest probability of re-operation. However, because of the nature of the prosthetic material in mechanical valves, long-term anticoagulation with warfarin is an absolute necessity.

·Other
The diseased valve is replaced using a tissue bioprosthesis (xenograft) or a preserved human valve (homograft).


Bioprosthetic valve

Mechanical valve

How to interpret the survival funnel plots

These graphs show the national average survival after specific procedures for treating congenital heart disease. The national average is shown as a horizontal grey line. Two control limits are shown; a warning limit (Green line, 98%) and an alert limit ( Red line 99.5%). Unit performances are shown as identifiable coloured symbols. If a unit's symbol is above the green line then the performance is no different from the national average. If a unit’s survival rate is below the warning limit, their performance will be closely monitored in subsequent years. If a unit’s survival rate is below the alert limit, an investigation into possible reasons and remedial actions will be launched by the appropriate professional and regulatory bodies.