my vascular surgeon says my chances are 50-50 whether to have surgery

Who came up with the 50/50 number? Where is the 6.0 aneurysm? Is it the ascending aorta, aortic root, arch or descending aorta? Regardless, it sounds like you need a second opinion from a cardiologist AND a cardiovascular surgeon that specializes in these things at a center that does a lot of these things.

Definitely get a 2nd opinion from a surgeon. My dad had an 11cm Abdominal Aneurysm AND a heart valve replaced with 1 week of each other. He live to 95. And that surgery was done 36 yrs ago. Good luck.

If you are in good health otherwise, you should consider contacting one of the major academic centers - 37 of them. A new endovascular graft is available. This means not having open heart surgery but having a more “gentle” procedure.

I am also curious about who gave you the 50/50 chance. Who is your cardiologist associated with if I might ask? Do you wish to share if you have any other health issues that would make the cardiologist give you that 50/50 chance? Thank you so much

That’s a tough decision 🙁. My husband has both an abdominal aneurysm and a descending aortic aneurysm. He has a genetic condition, Loeys-Dietz Syndrome. We only found out about 2 1/2 years ago.
He’s 69 and we met with a new vascular cardiologist last week. His abdominal one is 5.1 and our previous surgeon said surgery at 5.5 but the new cardiologist wants to do it earlier since every 6 months it has been increasing.
His thoracic aneurysm is smaller at 4.3 so that for sure will just continue to be monitored for now. He was explaining to us that he could possibly do the EVAR, less invasive surgery on the abdominal aneurysm but he’d have to have open heart surgery on the thoracic one which he stated was a tough surgery for the patient.
It probably would have been easier for you if your surgeon recommended surgery over waiting. I understand how difficult this decision must be for you. I hope you find some sort of clarity for you to come to your decision. Sorry you are going through this. It’s very hard worrying about dissection or rupture every day or at least it is for us. Good luck to you.
We did switch to a top notch medical facility, Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wi which has a Center for Vascular Care dedicated to treating these conditions. We had seen 2 other cardiologists at different systems but were dissatisfied and decided to get a 3rd opinion.

Don't forget that Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic aren't "academic centers" but are better than the academic centers in this area. In Florida, I consider Mayo 1st by a lot followed by Shands/UF in Gainseville a distant second followed by Tampa General and two others tied for 3rd. That said, each state or region is a little different. My point is that just because it may be an academic center doesn't make it a volume center in this area of expertise.

I consider the Mayo Clinic (Rochester) and the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio) to be academic centers. Physicians teach, do research and see patients in Clinic. Mayo has a medical school, residency programs and fellowships.
Mayo in Florida (in my experience) is very different from Mother Mayo in RST but they also do research, teach, clinical work.)
Both volume and outcomes are very important.

Dear MaryAnn,

Thank you for sharing your life with us.
I have vEDS, am 73 YOA, and facing the same issues. I have to decide with each medical situation that arises. All are different.
In the past, we were advised to avoid all surgery. Today, the opinion is different. I heal fast due to Vitamin C therapy. I will try to find you the reports I viewed on vEDS and surgical involvement.

I must have a basal cell carcinoma on my face removed. That will not be surgical, but with radiation due to the fragility of my tissues in the nasal area.

I have experienced many aneurysms and dissections. None of mine were large enough to be removed, I did fall and rupture my spleenic artery, which required restructuring and a trauma team at Hershey.
My surgical procedures were necessary.