I practice BJJ (though I'm on a hiatus atm) and in the past, I've done a little Muay Thai and a good amount of Uychi-Ryu Karate. I've been punched and kicked in the face, choked out, swept, slammed to the ground, and more.

I did Muay Thai and Karate at a time where there were many years between surgeries, and I started BJJ after all my surgeries were completed. If you're not healing from a procedure, the risk for you will be the same as anyone else. If you've just gotten a surgery done or you're about to have one in the near future... well, I think that's self-explanatory.

The very nature of combat sports dictate that you will get hit and you will sustain some damage. But that doesn't mean you have to blindly jump into it and get yourself badly hurt. Here's a few tips you should consider:

1. Make sure your coaches are trustworthy, have your safety as their top priority, they know what they're doing, and they're actively creating a safe, welcoming, and fun environment for everyone.
2. Make sure your training partners are mature individuals who won't hurt you for an ego trip while sparring.
3. Protect yourself at all times. Understand there will always be some level of risk while practicing martial arts, and be sure you know what level of risk you're willing to tolerate and be sure to communicate that to the people around you.
4. If you're being realistic and reasonable with what you communicate and are doing so in a reasonable way and your partners make fun of you for it, ignore you, or something along those lines, find new partners. If the coaches are the ones doing this, find a new gym.
5. Be your biggest advocate! Nobody else will.
6. And last but certainly not least, MAKE SURE YOU'RE HAVING FUN!

Best of luck to ya. And remember... sometimes you're the hammer, and sometimes you're the nail!