I looked at the surgery this way: If I didn't get the surgery, I was likely to drop dead at some indeterminate point in the future. That sounded like a bad proposition. With the surgery, I have a little more predictability in my life, so this was the right option for me (and probably for you).

Don't fret the surgery... you will sleep through the whole thing! Stay in shape as much as you can prior to surgery as that will help with your recovery... they told me to 'walk, walk, walk'... and I did.

To your question, they did not have any sort of psychological prep. Just maintain a positive outlook prior to surgery and know that the first few days post surgery will be tough... Follow the doc and nurses' orders and once home, things will slowly get better. There are no shortcuts for this kind of operation but these docs do it routinely and the overall risk is low. Allocate 6 months for the entire recovery process... You will do great!