This term means the area between the ventricle that pumps to the aorta, and the aorta. It consists of part of the ventricle known as the outflow tract or outflow chamber, and the valve. The risks of the Damus procedure include bleeding and infection as most every surgical operation. There are also the risks of open-heart surgery . The special risks of the Damus operation are tension in the reconstructed artery which may stretch the rings of the pulmonary and aortic valves and cause leakiness.
Blood flows in the path of least resistance.
Since there is narrowing below the aortic valve, and the pulmonary arteries have low resistance, more blood will go to the lungs than to the body. This causes pulmonary congestion, and if the subaortic narrowing is severe, the body will not get enough blood to function normally, Therefore, an operation is needed to make sure the body can get enough blood and not too much blood goes to the lungs. One of the operations is a Damus procedure where the aorta and pulmonary artery are combined to make sure there is adequate blood flow to the body. However, when this procedure is performed, the pulmonary arteries are left without blood going to them to become enriched with oxygen in the lungs. Therefore, another procedure is usually performed at the same time of the Damus operation.