NATCHEZ — Natchez Mayor Larry L. “Butch” Brown said Thursday he has no plans to leave office — or the earth for that matter — anytime soon.

Brown expects to be released today from Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, where he underwent triple bypass surgery and had a new valve replaced in an aorta on Monday.

“I feel sore, sore, sore. It was a pretty aggressive surgery,” Brown said.

Over the past three or four weeks, Brown said he had been experiencing some pain in his left shoulder, which he associated with a rotator cuff injury.

“I had a couple of warning signs I didn’t pick up on,” Brown said. “While I was in D.C. last week, we had one long walk, about the equivalent of 20 blocks, and it took my breath away.”

In addition, Brown said after returning to the Baton Rouge airport, he had to make two trips to the luggage carousel after realizing when he got back to his car he had forgotten his briefcase.

“I had to go back to luggage claim to get it, and when I got back to my car, I was feeling pretty weak,” he said.

Brown said, once back at his car, he took about a 10-minute break and then headed home. That’s when he placed a call to his Natchez cardiologist, Dr. Brad LeMay.

“He told me, ‘Whatever else you do, turn around and go back the other way and go to Our Lady of the Lake.’”

That advice may have saved the mayor’s life.

“I will tell you it has been a delightful experience. The care here has been over the top,” Brown said. “The team has been second to none.”

Brown said he has been up and exercising the last couple of days and that he was given a “couple of pints” of blood on Thursday in preparation for his return to Natchez, where LeMay will take over his care.

Brown said his head is clear and he’s looking forward to getting back to work as soon as possible.

“I have talked to Joyce (Arceneaux-Mathis, mayor pro tem) and I know about the meeting that was held, the substance of it, and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m going to hang around as long as I can. We have a lot on the table yet to do in Natchez of a national and international scope, particularly with the upcoming tricentennial.”