BAVD John and the others here,
I just wanted to let you know that if you check my profile, you'll see an album of pictures of what "extras" were attached to me post surgery. The forum scrambled the order of the album somewhat, but there's a series of pictures from about 2 days post surgery to about 2 weeks. It shows the chest tubes, the Swann-Gantz (sp?) catheter in my neck, the arterial line in my arm, the (in my case full) sternotomy incision, the pacing wires, and various instrumentation that was vital in monitoring me after surgery. This will give anyone interested in seeing what they will probably look like to loved ones post-surgery something to look at.
Yes, even the minimally invasive surgery will cause your body to react as if traumatized, so take things slowly and keep religiously to the lifting limitations. I know, I did, and still benefit from doing so.
Chris