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Congratulations! You are doing great. If you get tired or sore, please take it easy - you don't want to overdo it so quickly after surgery. :-)

Cool info, Jim. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your surgery!

I'll answer the one thing I know about - yes, your heart can remodel after surgery. I don't think it matters what kind of repair/replacement is done, it has an amazing capacity to recover as long as there isn't too much damage.

Was anyone here treated by Dr. Michael Davidson at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston? Some nut shot and killed him yesterday. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/doctor-...ry?id=28348752 Sorry, this should have gone in the small talk forum. I'd delete it if I knew how.

That sounds like a much better plan. I'm glad you found a surgeon you like better and that he has a good plan to address all of the issues at once. Good luck with your surgery! Can you explain what you mean by this? The first surgeon suggested the need for circulatory arrest during the...

Wow, the surgeon I saw was way more laid back and said I could drive after 4 weeks (which was too soon; I was sore). He lifted all restrictions since I wasn't on narcotics. Staying off a bike sounds like a good idea - the soft tissues take a little longer to heal than the bone.

I remember still being on an upward trend at four weeks. Really, that's when feeling better started to kick in. At 8 weeks I was back on solid ground and feeling quite good. Weakened, yet close to normal.

Wow, when I saw a surgeon four weeks post-op, he lifted all restrictions. Never drank coffee, so that didn't matter. I tried driving and decided that was a bad idea for another week!

How many surgeons in Philadelphia did you talk to? I think we're all familiar with the idea that each surgeon has their own preferred way of doing things. I'm sure some of them take the mini approach. Press on until you find someone you trust, but I don't understand why the size of the...

Wow, sorry to hear that Jim. I'm pretty amazed that every surgeon wouldn't address the aneurysm along with the AVR. That seems a little crazy; 4.6cm is above the normal range. I hope your next consultation is a better fit for you.

No offense taken, Chris. :-) Anne, I was curious enough that I asked my cardiologist if my surgery was "minimal" (which truly is a silly term). He agreed that it was not; my scar is 6 inches. However, I have an inch or two of unmarred skin below the notch at the top of my sternum. The...

Chris, I didn't consider my case a "real" aneurysm because no doctor ever told me I had one. After doing some research post-op, it appears that at 4cm mine was at the upper limit of normal (or perhaps over the limit for my body size). Jim, Bavaria may be a little cocky, but I think it's...

Bavaria may be a little cocky, but I think it's earned. He took the time to answer my email (as a complete stranger who dug up his address on the Penn site) and even called me once before I flew out from California to see him. I'd say he clearly cares about his patients. He was supposed to do...

Hi Jim, I had an aortoplasty - IIRC, it was referred to as an S-plasty in the surgical report, where they cut an S-curve in the ascending aorta and stitch it back up to reduce its overall diameter. Mine was only 4cm, so I figured they do that for a small reduction in diameter, and use a graft...

FWIW, when I was on amiodarone it didn't affect my BP. A month or so after I got out of the hospital I was getting light-headed with low BP so they took me off Metoprolol but I still took the amiodarone for a few more weeks.

Well, Anne, I don't know if the OP has an aneurysm to go with his stenosis so I hedged a bit. I remember a doctor giving me the example of an American football player too, so he moved a lot of weight as well. I don't remember who that was though because I don't care about football.

Wow, it's great to hear you're back! I know you were getting frustrated along the way. Now that you have your heart and breathing sorted, there's no stopping you. Great way to start a new year!

Good luck. I hope you're already in very good shape - it's a tough regimen.

The more I read, the more thankful I am that Dr. Bavaria gave my little (4.0cm) aorta a little nip and tuck while he was in there. I'd be bummed to go through OHS just to have to do it again when the (presumably) higher pressure of a working valve blows up the tubing, so to speak. Let us know...

I don't have cool hobbies like pellicle and skeptic49, but I'll echo the message here: there is no reason to scale back any plans for your life as long as you don't plan to be a pro weightlifter. IF you start to have serious symptoms, you can get your heart fixed. (I never had any.) IF you...