[MR2]

Teddy, based on my experience working telemetry floors and ICU/CCU I have some thoughts for you.

Some cardiologists are better than others. Some surgeons are better than others. And so on. Most people do more research and due diligence when picking out their carpet than they do their general physician, cardiologist, or surgeon...

Go to the hospital. Bring someone with you (to help remember). Talk to the nursing staff that work in the recovery room, in the CCU, the telemetry floors. Talk to the ancillary staff (X-Ray, IV, EKG, Ultrasound, etc.) working there too. Find out which cardiac surgeons patients do better than most. Ask them if they were you, who would they choose.

Talk to your surgeon and ask him/her about their success rate. Then ask them to define success and see if it matches your own definition. Ask them what their one year and five year success rates are - what that really means. Note that I used the term success and not survival. They have different meanings. Ask them to define "quality of life" and see if it matches your own.

Remember that some doctors will take more serious cases than other doctors and their success rates will vary accordingly.

In my experience it is rare for cardiac patients to think about the after (quality of life) until it is after. I commend you for that, but I would also advise that you not put the cart before the horse.

If you are a good candidate for success, I would schedule the surgery for a Thursday. That gives you 2-3 days in CCU and then your on the step-down or telemetry floor for a normal M-F (full staff) schedule. If your not a good candidate for success, schedule for Tuesday and tell the surgeon your not going to the floor until Monday. Avoid all surgery on Mondays and Fridays.

Good luck to you and yours and may God bless whatever decision you make.