-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
Loes M.A. Klieverik, Ad J.J.C. Bogers, Johanna J.M. Takkenberg, Is the Ross procedure really a Trojan horse: reply, European Heart Journal, Volume 29, Issue 17, September 2008, Pages 2181–2182, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehn289
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
We thank Dr Dohmen et al. for their critical and culturally enriching letter regarding our paper entitled ‘The Ross procedure: A Trojan Horse?’ We congratulate the authors with their extensive experience and look forward to the first report on their results with this impressive patient population.
The modern speculations of the Trojan Horse that Dohmen et al. describe in their letter are not the most obvious explanation to the myth. The well-known common myth of the Trojan Horse is the myth of the giant wooden horse, a gift for Pallas Athena. This horse was hollow and contained Greek soldiers who overtook the city of Troy during the Trojan War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War). This myth has become the common metaphor for anything that appears innocent or benign, but actually presents with unpleasant consequences.
The Ross operation is the only aortic valve operation that provides the patient with a living valve substitute, a truly wonderful gift. Yet, there is accumulating evidence that over time the durability of the Ross procedure may be disappointing, as is illustrated in the Trojan horse paper on our own experience. In Rotterdam, we find that the durability of the Ross operation is comparable with other biological valve substitutes.1 However, we do not conclude in our paper that the Ross operation is a Trojan Horse, but critically assess the operation in our own experience. The question mark in the title of our paper is illustrative of this critical assessment.
