Hi, James, and welcome to VR. I cannot answer your questions directly but I can say that for almost all of us began our journey towards surgery with a great deal of apprehension. Another thing that most of us have in common is that things didn't turn out to be nearly as bad as we anticipated. I think it is good for your to learn about your condition and about the procedures needed to restore your health, however, try not to focus on the potential problems. There is no benefit to you in studying all of the things that can go wrong and dwelling on them can leave you in a mental state that is not helpful. Without surgery, your health will fail and you will die much sooner than necessary. For you, surgery is life saving and offers you the prospect of a return to health and a normal life; don't let the focus on details lead you away from that.
If your are comfortable with your surgeon, you must place yourself in his or her hands because you are not in control of what happens during surgery. You must trust your surgeon to do the best job for you and if you find that you do not have that trust then, perhaps, you need to speak with another surgeon. Despite planning, your surgeon will not know the exact state of things until the operation has begun. You need to have confidence that your surgeon will make the best choice of technique, procedure and equipment to maximize the outcome for you. No amount of reading about possible problems will change what happens during those hours. If you have concerns, please, call your surgeon's office and share them but in the end you must be prepared to surrender control and let your surgeon do his job.
A question you might also ask is how will the surgery you need effect your recovery? Will there be any particulars that you will need to anticipate that are different from those shared by other heart surgery patients. Even now, begining to focus on planning your recovery can help offset the anxiety caused by thinking of everything that can go wrong. You cannot plan the details of your own surgery but you can plan the details of recovery. Start now.
Larry
If your are comfortable with your surgeon, you must place yourself in his or her hands because you are not in control of what happens during surgery. You must trust your surgeon to do the best job for you and if you find that you do not have that trust then, perhaps, you need to speak with another surgeon. Despite planning, your surgeon will not know the exact state of things until the operation has begun. You need to have confidence that your surgeon will make the best choice of technique, procedure and equipment to maximize the outcome for you. No amount of reading about possible problems will change what happens during those hours. If you have concerns, please, call your surgeon's office and share them but in the end you must be prepared to surrender control and let your surgeon do his job.
A question you might also ask is how will the surgery you need effect your recovery? Will there be any particulars that you will need to anticipate that are different from those shared by other heart surgery patients. Even now, begining to focus on planning your recovery can help offset the anxiety caused by thinking of everything that can go wrong. You cannot plan the details of your own surgery but you can plan the details of recovery. Start now.
Larry
