I had mine 5 years ago, i had an ascending aortic aneurysm not quite at the root but close and a bicuspid aortic valve that had the potential of needing replacement. Having been active all your life and in good physical shape will now pay dividends, I also was in great shape, exercised often and my surgeon gave me higher than 99% probability of no complications. I was out of the hospital in 5 days and back to work in 3 weeks. I was exercising again a few months later. They left my valve in place as it was still in good shape, it will need replacement at some point but hopefully it will be a few years and that will be done through catheter. Make sure you get a good cardiologist you can follow up with after surgery, the surgeon will drop out after a couple of visits and the cardiologist will take over for the rest of your life. My surgeon referred me to one who is an expert in aortic diseases, and he has been wonderful, he answers any and every question I may have. He also orders full aortic scans every 4 years to ensure no other aneurysms are appearing (there’s a propensity in my family). The surgery is tough but bearable, painful at the beginning but the body heals quickly, I found a lot of great input from people that had had OH surgery, small things like I installed a bidet toilet seat (reaching back with your arm is a little painful) and that was useful. Listen to your surgeon!!!