i had LVRS almost 6 yrs ago, with good results, its not a walk in the park surgery,,, as far as valves i have a different option, all the people i know that have tried valves have had little sucess and most end up get LVRS anyways, valves only redirect the o2 to the good part of your lungs and your disease will still be there, where LVRS they go in and remove as much of the diseases lung as they can, which give you more room to breathe, because the diagfram can move up and now again versus being flat.

I have several friends who have had LVRS and had good results with it. There aren't a lot of places that still do the surgery, but it can be quite successful. Most people try for the valves because it's not so invasive and can have pretty much the same results.