Should I go with the second opinion

@winproc I am not a physician. The medical establishment won't generally deal with a partially occluded major blood vessel until it is 70% blocked....BUT....they also take into account the presence....or absence...of objectionable and worrying symptoms. Much of modern cardiac care is palliative...they try to slow or stop the progression, but also to make you as symptom-free as possible. The thinking is that any surgical intervention is risky. 'First, do no harm!' is their oath, and if they become cowboys and want to dive in, and you die on the operating table or have a stroke the next day and are confined thereafter....of what use or benefit was the risky surgery, not to mention all the cost and materials that might have benefited someone with a better probability of recovery?

However, and this is just me: I know that delaying corrective surgery also imposes a risk, not to mention dealing with the greater urgency if suddenly nasty symptoms show that surgery last week was a smarter option. Also, just because there are no objectionable symptoms doesn't mean the body isn't under duress silently and that the system is not going short of oxygen and nutrition where and as it is needed. Some symptoms go unnoticed. In my dad's case, he later realized that his cognition was poor and that his vision had begun to close in on him, that his field of vision had been slowly narrowing. He needed a lot more light, for instance, to see anything. After his endarterectomy, his vision was noticeably better.

Aged people have falls. They fall because of poor vestibular response and...wait for it....poorer vision.

My preference would be to bear the risks and to hope for a good outcome that would ostensibly offer me improved quality of life and less risk of falls and other deteriorations that are sure to come if we do squat but to wait for the first real signs that something is wrong.

By all means, let the surgeon know of the advice of the professor. Ask him to help you to sort out the dichotomy presented, the contradiction between the two, and to give you a measured assessment of the risks of either continuing as you have been (professor's advice) or to attempt a remedial measure and what it might do for you if you do it sooner (surgeon's apparent position on the matter).

@gloaming I have had the opportunity to see a consultant surgeon this morning He is in full agreement with your valued analysis. The way forward he has taken is to order a new Angiogram from his recommended cardiologist, as there may be further deterioration in the last year to the right side as well. Then to proceed with surgery to correct any and all problems. (Without insurance they will not do robotic surgery any more and the fee is beyond my means) He did say I am fit enough overall and he anticipates no problems. I am on the list for bye pass surgery, Many Thanks for your input which the surgeon was eager to read