You came to the right place because MANY of us have had surgery for HOCM! You are at the "sorting it all out" stage and asking questions. The chemical treatment is called alcohol ablation, not right for me, either, per both my home cardiologist and the Mayo team, because of the location of my obstruction. The surgery is septal myectomy and the procedure removes the obstruction. Going to a COE (Center of Excellence) for the surgery is highly recommended because of the expertise and experience of the surgeons. What was it like? It is major surgery and each of us had different specific experiences. I was 75, active lifestyle, the recovery was not difficult for me but took several months - hearts undergo trauma and must heal. I was in the hospital 5 nights. I hope I answered your questions. Debra @karukgirl, our mentor, started another related blog about how it all went, do look for it.