What are the chances of a 6cm aneryism bursting for an 81 yr old?

Posted by jillybert77 @jillybert77, Jun 4 11:47am

My husband has a 6cm aneryism in his stomach, and he is afraid of surgery because of his age. Do you think he should get the surgery?

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Thankyou for the hugs, I can't seem to be able to get on
site, tried everything sad it's so dufficult

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Your husband's aneurysm is certainly of a size where surgery is often recommended - actually surgery is typically suggested for smaller aneurysms. Surgery comes with risks too so you need to see a cardiac or vascular surgeon or cardiologist that sees many patients with this condition to have that physician evaluate whether surgery is appropriate for your husband. (Appropriate means that the potential benefit is higher than the potential risks.) These surgeons/cardiologists are seldom, if ever, at a community hospital. (A community hospital is the major type of hospital we have in our country.) He needs to go to a large "academic" hospital such as Mayo, the Cleveland Clinic, or many other medical (teaching and research) centers/clinics/hospitals.
Please tell us where you live and what your travel possibilities are and possibly some of us can help. It is important that you take steps to get him evaluated by a competent professional - experienced in dealing with aneurysms.

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I forgot to mention that you might be able to get a telehealth second opinion from some medical centers. Centers may be limited by laws regarding “practice across State lines.” If they have a satellite center in your State, it may be possible for the center to help you.

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5 CM is the cut off where you should get your Aneurysm surgery. That is for most younger adults. At your age (I’m 70) there may be reasons for not getting your aneurysm stenting.

You may be considered not able to receive repair because of many other factors are taken into consideration.
I’m a bleeding risk due to my mechanical aortic heart replacement so they weigh the odds of getting the aneurysm repaired versus leaving it alone.

Mine is a little bit more complicated. Being on a blood thinner is not considered safe to go through the aneurysm procedure but the aneurysm has a tear in it.

They have been holding off until it developed a tear in it. It could burst before the 5 cm threshold like mine even though it’s less that 5 cm. So they are monitoring it seriously as a bursting aneurysm can kill you quickly. It’s between his doctor and him. They may not think surgery is not good for him due to other medical issues.

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@andytheman

5 CM is the cut off where you should get your Aneurysm surgery. That is for most younger adults. At your age (I’m 70) there may be reasons for not getting your aneurysm stenting.

You may be considered not able to receive repair because of many other factors are taken into consideration.
I’m a bleeding risk due to my mechanical aortic heart replacement so they weigh the odds of getting the aneurysm repaired versus leaving it alone.

Mine is a little bit more complicated. Being on a blood thinner is not considered safe to go through the aneurysm procedure but the aneurysm has a tear in it.

They have been holding off until it developed a tear in it. It could burst before the 5 cm threshold like mine even though it’s less that 5 cm. So they are monitoring it seriously as a bursting aneurysm can kill you quickly. It’s between his doctor and him. They may not think surgery is not good for him due to other medical issues.

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Hi Andy: Wish you the best with your aneurysm. I am also on a blood thinner due to having blood clots in my legs years ago. I imagine I will have to stop my blood thinner prior to any surgery I might have to have. I am being monitored for my Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm on a regular basis. I am still below a 4 CM. I also have tons of other issues, an none of us knows how it will all turn out. I will be 77 in Nov. I just pray a lot, and will pray that yours is handled successfully .

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I had to stop taking Coumadin for 3 days before my esophagus stretch to make it bigger. However I showed signs of bleeding for 3 days and had to go to another hospital because the first one was packed. I had another surgery on my esophagus and he found corrosion in my stomach. My gastroenterologist missed it.
Anyway, back to my aneurysm of my aortic celiac artery. I saw my cardiologist and did a sonogram. He wasn’t happy about it because there is a tear in it. I’m seeing him in 2 days. Will see what he says.

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I believe that if the aortic aneurysm is in the stomach - called an abdominal aortic aneurysm - that he may be able to avoid an operation and instead have a stent put into his aorta which acts like a patch to prevent the aorta from bursting. It is much safer than an actual surgery procedure so call your cardiologist and let him refer you to a surgeon who can better advise you. I wish you all the luck in the world, Michael

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