@cacamik
My surgery was at the Baylor Heart Hospital in Plano, TX (near Dallas). My surgeon was Dr. William Brinkman. It was a difficult decision for me at first. I had lived with the knowledge that I had an aneurysm for many years but there were no symptoms and it was not affecting my life. I had lived with it for so long I guess I had become complacent about the risk of dissection. I also knew it was major surgery with a long recovery and the possibility of complications. The first time I met with my surgeon I was not expecting him to recommend surgery, but he did. I was not prepared for that and I told him I was not ready and I would have to think about it. I did a lot of research after that and when I saw him again a couple of months later I was prepared for the discussion and had a long list of questions. He answered all my questions, but the one thing he said that convinced me to have the surgery was that my aneurysm was continuing to grow slowly and I would have to have surgery eventually, and at my age the longer I waited the more difficult the surgery and recovery would be. The recovery was difficult at times during the first few weeks, but it was not as bad as I had feared. Wishing you all the best with your surgery and recovery in 3 weeks or whenever you have it done. I know it is not easy but try not to let the anxiety and fear make the decisions for you.