Joan,
Not in your situation, however, a possible thought for you. As you note, normally repairs in the ascending aorta need to be done using an open heart procedure. Given your situation, I am wondering if you might qualify for the ARISE II national clinical trial that is testing a new ascending aorta stent for patients who would not survive an open procedure. That would be a minimally invasive procedure, rather than an open heart procedure. I know of at least one such surgery at Stanford last year and the Cleveland Clinic I believe has been recruiting eligible patients for the clinical trial at 27 sites around the country. Might be worth discussing with your doctor. See links below.
https://med.stanford.edu/ctsurgery/about-the-department/news/2025/first-endovascular-ascending-aorta-stent-graft-in-western-us.html
https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/arise-ii-underway-to-evaluate-ascending-aorta-stent-graft-for-endovascular-repair