Like JKM said, everyone is different and from what I've seen you really won't know until the recovery is over how it will be for you. Justin had 5 OHS (plus 2 other heart related surgery/no bypass) the first 2 he was a baby/toddler and doesn't remember but the 2nd was awful, 6 months of hell. BUT THAT was because it was a MAJOR surgery where they basically rebuilt his heart and rerouted the blood flow, AND the doctors were still learning alot. The rest he remembers, his third he was 10 and was out of the hospital (and played drums in his school Christmas concert, he was sore but it was VERY important to him, so his docs OK'd it) in a week. When he was 17 he was home in about 4 days and pretty much back to normal in 6 weeks. When he was 19 he was home in 3days, but then readmited for an infection and had ER surgery 10 days post op, his main complaints from those surgeries was his thigh because they needed it use for bypass machine because of scar tissue from the previous times his chest was open and for the infection surgery they had to his pec muscle so that hurt, but all in all in 3 months he was pretty much doing everything he loved, snowboarding ect. He had minor or major complications from most of his surgeries, but the first thing he asked the doctors when he woke up from the infection surgery was this won't keep me from having more surgeries will it? (No it won't for those wonderring)
FWIW on the adult with CHD forums most of the people have had 2 -3 or more surgeries and those that had recent ones are surprised at how fast they feel better for the recent ones since when they had their older ones recovery times were MUCH longer. In the past 20 years there has been ALOT of progress in CHD surgery and many of the complex repairs are 2 or 3 stage surgeries, so surgeons (especially CHD surgeons) learned alot about MULTIPLE REDOS and what to look for and how to handle and and the heart surgery world in general has benefitted alot from what they learn from these brave babies and children, which IMO is one of the reasons why the stats are so much better these days for 2nd and 3rd surgeries (which is some of the reasons some of the major centers, especially ones that also specialize in treating children with CHD, are recomending tissue valves in people younger than 65 now) Would I or someone I love go to a local/small hospital for a 3rd or 4th surgery, probably not, but chances are IF you are a high risk case in the next 5 years or less, they will probably tell you to have the purcutaneous valve replacement.
