reat question! It depends. Any medications you were taken for conditions other than the one the surgery is treating may need to be continued. In the case of a robotic mitral valve operation, I usually recommend 3 months of adult strength aspirin and a blood thinner. After that, a baby aspirin for life is not mandatory and I recommend it. Your cardiologist will evaluate you after surgery and decide what needs to be continued. For coronary surgery, I recommend at least an aspirin a day, a beta blocker, and a statin (if tolerated) for life although every patient is different. Again, your cardiologist will have to review your medications and give you guidance on the specifics.
For the MAZE procedure, my goal is to get you off antiarrhythmic and blood thinner medications. It depends on the individual patient and whether the procedure was successful or not in eliminating atrial fibrillation.
You should have a detailed discussion with your cardiologist and your surgeon regarding this important question.
