Yeah, I've seen this episode before...

[pedropadrao]

I misspoke when I said Dr. Siegenthaler would just give me a local & everything would be simple. He'll be putting me under, & I may spend Thursday night at the hospital, depending on how well things go

Comments

[cjtremlett]

Eeep! Well, hope it all goes well!

[pedropadrao]

The briefing I got earlier today boiled down to this: One could, in principle, do this as an outpatient procedure with local anesthetic. However, we are talking about poking sharp things in the direction of my just-repaired heart, so Dr. S. wants to play it safe. He's the expert, & I'll let him make the call.

[cjtremlett]

That seems entirely reasonable.

[luscious_purple]

I too hope this goes really well and that this is the *last* procedure for a long time.

[pedropadrao]

It should be. According to Dr. S., the valve itself should be good until I'm in my seventies, at the very least. By then, my guess is that they'll just clone a new valve & install it laproscopically. Of course, other issues may arise through those years (cataracts, gout, arthritis, &c.), but I'll take them as they come.