Best wishes fair, you've long been one of my favorite posters.
It is scary when you face it but the surgery almost borders on routine. When I had mine done, my surgeon out of UPenn mentioned to me that he did 300/year. That seemed insane to me. It was just another Monday at the office to him.It sounds like you have a great surgeon which increases the odds for success greatly. I’m sure we’ll be hearing back from you soon. Good Luck and God Bless. Our prayers are with you.
My surgeon said the pig/cow valve lasts only ~ 20 years. I really didn't want to go through it again if I didn’t have to, so I went mechanical. They say the ‘downside’ is you need to be on Coumadin/blood thinners for the rest of your life. That has not bothered me on bit. I am very good about taking it daily. I often fall asleep at night listening the the clicking soundAnd I am 5.5 years into an aortic valve replacement. I opted for the bovine replacement. Moo!