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Originally published June 26, 2026
Last updated June 26, 2026
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More than a decade ago, at age 20, Arik Bibicoff’s lifestyle centered on health and fitness. He exercised with weights several times per week, worked as a personal trainer and had a core group of friends who shared his passion for wellness.
But despite being in excellent shape, Arik was feeling tired every day. He started experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, lightheadedness and vision problems.
He visited multiple doctors, an urgent care and an emergency room over several months, searching for answers. “My symptoms were brushed off because I was so young and in shape,” Arik says. “They told me it was likely not enough sleep, or it was stress.”
Just before his 21st birthday in 2015, an echocardiogram finally revealed the problem: Arik had a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), a rare congenital heart defect. While patients with BAV are encouraged to exercise, high-intensity activities like weightlifting and contact sports can put pressure on the valve and lead to symptoms like Arik’s.
After his diagnosis and consultations with numerous providers, Arik was disappointed by the choices initially presented to him. “The surgeons within my health plan had most of their experience treating patients much older than me, and they were offering surgical options that could limit me for the rest of my life,” he says.
After asking everyone they knew for other recommendations, Arik and his family were referred to cardiothoracic surgeon Vaughn A. Starnes, MD.
Dr. Starnes is the executive director of the USC Cardiac and Vascular Institute, part of Keck Medicine of USC, and chief of surgery at Keck Medical Center of USC. At the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Dr. Starnes is a Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, as well as the H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair for Cardiovascular Thoracic Research.
Dr. Starnes is a widely recognized expert in treating congenital heart conditions in both adult and child patients and is most notably a leading authority on the Ross procedure. He told Arik that because of his age and fitness level, he was a great candidate for the procedure.
This advanced technique involves removing the damaged aortic valve and moving the patient’s own pulmonary valve into that space. The pulmonary valve is then replaced with a donor valve.
Because the Ross procedure uses the patient’s own valve to repair their damaged valve — as opposed to using a valve from a pig or a cow, or an artificial valve — the Ross procedure eliminates the need to take lifelong blood thinners, lowers the risk of infection or stroke and offers enhanced valve durability over the patient’s lifetime. This affords patients, especially younger patients, the chance to resume a regular level of physical activity without restrictions and to maintain a quality of life that is on par with people without heart disease.
Arik is grateful that the Ross procedure was an option made possible by Dr. Starnes. “At the time, most surgeons only presented me with options that included a valve replacement using a cow or a pig’s valve or an artificial valve. If I had gone that route, I would have faced many limitations post-surgery and for the rest of my life,” he explains. “All the cardiologists and cardiac surgeons my family and I had consulted with prior to Dr. Starnes had not heard of the Ross procedure, or knew very little about it, so it was never presented to us as a viable option for my condition. It was Dr. Starnes who told us he felt comfortable that it would be an excellent fit for someone of my age and active lifestyle.”
There was another sentimental reason for Arik to be hopeful: “I learned that my motivator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was also born with a bicuspid valve and had the Ross procedure performed in 1997 by Dr. Starnes,” Arik says. “It felt like fate.”
Arik’s open-heart surgery took place in September 2015 at Keck Hospital of USC. Recovery included six days in the intensive care unit and months of physical therapy — and it allowed Arik to resume the life he wanted. Post-surgery, he went on to compete in a physique competition, graduate college and launch a successful new career.
“I am so appreciative that I was treated by the best doctors and support staff out there,” he says. “It was the hardest and most painful experience of my life. It gave me a new perspective on life that most young people do not think about until they are much older. The cardiothoracic team at Keck Medicine was always there to support me during follow-up visits and numerous phone calls.”
Looking back on his healthcare journey of more than a decade ago, “Today, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life,” Arik says. “I am so appreciative that I was treated by the best doctors and support staff out there. Whenever we email or visit Dr. Starnes and his team, we always say the same thing: ‘We are forever grateful.’ This experience has made me appreciate what life has to offer and made me a stronger person, since I was forced to overcome a very daunting condition and medical setback at such a young age.”
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