Wow, you have been through the wringer. I'm sorry you went through that. I can see how you'd be nervous after that.

In defense of the surgeons, I don't think it's as simple as protecting their resume. They're people too, so it's hard to make generalizations, but I believe they work to try to do what gives the best possible outcome. They wait until the odds of a bad outcome from the surgery are lower than the odds of a dissection. If they operated on you before that point and you had a stroke and were debilitated for the rest of your life or you died, then they would be forever thinking that they should never have operated and odds are you would have been fine. For my 2 cents, with the relatively serious issues I have now, I only thank god that there are people out there willing the go through the lengthy process to become a surgeon and then are willing to take the responsibility of my life in their hands. I am not up to those demands. How is anyone? It's almost miraculous.

The odds equation depends somewhat on where you get the surgery. Cleveland Clinic, for example, has a very low rate of complications. I'm not sure where your aneurysm is at, but you may be able to find someone to operate. I posted this for people that might want to use it as a way to get surgery earlier than their doctor is currently willing to do.

It's a very individual journey. I hope things go well for you. It sounds like you have earned some good luck/experiences.