What should I expect?

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

Thanks for the words of encouragement I'm going to either the number 1 or 2 rated heart centers in the country. All I can do is put myself in the hands of the skilled doctors and hope the Good Lord answers my prayers. He has looked after me pretty good so far. Hopefully, he still has some things down here he wants me to accomplish. I would be lying if I didn't say I am a little concerned about this whole affair but worrying never helped anyone.

canon4me: You are on the right track..... you will be fine....Prayer is a key element.....but,what gave me the most comfort were several things. 1- I am extremely lucky I found out about this before permanent damage was done. 2- I am in the care of a great cardiologist .... he referred me to a world-class surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania. I also took a pro-active approach. I learned as much as I could about my heart health. I learned what all the options were.
I started thinking tissue....but, I have chosen an ON-X Aortic Valve with the attached graft. I already knew that my surgeon implanted the ON-X. So, when he asked which way I wanted to go...... I knew he could do what I felt was best for me. He also told me that my heart would accept a large ON-X valve. He was quite confident that my ejection fraction would go from 47 to 60. My surgery is March 18, 2013.

 

[Jkm7]

I personally believe in quantum immortality, so I am not worried about death. One doctor told that the total surgical risk is <1%. Another one (did around 300 surgeries) told that for Bentall procedure the risk of death is 2-3%, and there is further 1% risk of non-lethal stroke. I doubt that the first one is so much better than the second one, its more likely that their estimation of chances is not too accurate.

Each of my surgeries, truth be told, I was more concerned about surviving the surgery less than intact and being in a very bad condition than I was concerned I would die. We all have our own thoughts about 'quality of life' situations post op. I was afraid I would wish I had died.