Larry, I had this exact surgery done a few years ago. After having 9 weeks of doctors trying to figure out what was exactly wrong with me (I was diagnosed with biliary dyskinesia) and a loss of about 90 pounds, I had a lap-coli procedure at Strong Hospital in Rochester, NY.
Melvin hit it on the head - talk to your doctor and consider your age and physical ability. I was 21 at the time, and not in the best physical shape, especially after weeks of not being able to eat solid foods. I was in a bit of a tough position as I had to play principal on Tchaikovsky 6 about a week after the surgery - and I made my way through it, but I would strongly NOT recommend this. While the butt of many Monty Python quotes of "I'm Not Dead Yet!" by my colleagues during rehearsals, I felt quite inspired by the time the last movement rolled around in the performance; but I was very thankful to have a fantastically talented and supportive horn section and a great assistant, Jen-Hsien Hwang from Thailand. The biggest concern my doctor mentioned was to have a GI bleed from a rupture from one of the internal incisions. These do have a good deal of stress put on then when properly breathing for playing the horn. I had a relapse and 10 days after the surgery I had to go back to a doctor because I caused a slight internal bleed and slowly became sick again for a few days. The lessons of youthful impetuousness... If I were to do it all over again, I would say a minimum of at least 2-3 weeks of no playing, but take the down time to really look at your breathing, making sure it is as efficient and effortless as possible. Mouthpiece buzzing/pipe buzzing in week 3 would be fine, and just make sure to move slowly to prevent any complications. As things become to feel more back to your usual self, slowly work back in with some easy etudes in the mid-register and work from there. Additionally, Peter Kurau also recommended listening and score study of Nielsen Symphony 5 and Sibelius Symphony 2 to hasten my recovery with the inspiration of the constantly overcoming-adversity attitude of the Scandinavians, but had suggested to avoid Mahler 2 at the time. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance, All the best, JG Miller *********"Save the Pixels, Cut the Threads!*********** _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
