Ascending aortic aneurysm – repair/surgery

Could I get the name of your surgeon, if you are comfortable with that? I am now seeing someone at Regions and while I am happy with him I would prefer to have the surgery closer to my family in the west suburbs. My aneurysm is at 4.9 to 5 cm and I'm told this is something I need to do now. We've been watching if for almost 12 years. My dad died at 48 of an AAA in 1971.

Hi,
My surgery ( mechanical aortic valve and aortic graft) was done by dr. Kroshus and his team at Regions in October 2018. I have no hesitation in recommending him and the other professionals involved in my surgery/recovery care. Great people at Regions: nurses, lab techs, orderly, therapists.
The staff at the cardiac rehab run by Regions is really good, too. Very encouraging and attentive to patients’ needs.

I just wish that Regions had more in terms of patient’s education/support/follow up...especially, in those first months when you have to adjust to so much. Sure, the nursing and rehab staff preps you on all the major info, you come home with a bunch of print-outs and phone numbers, but there is so much more that can be useful to know upon the discharge. Thanks goodness for the internet and sites like this one - incredibly rich source of information and support (once again, thank you ALL who reached out to me back than and reassured me that everything was going to be fine, I am ever grateful for your kindness!).

There are online sites that are exclusively for patients with valvular diseases, lots of great info and advices shared by patients for patients. It is great to share with the ones who walk in our shoes.

My cardiologist and surgeon have been watching my ascending aortic aneurysm for more than a decade. Things seemed to be stable but now I am told that it has been growing and is now at 4.9 or 5 cm. It is time for surgery. My surgeon is in St. Paul and I live in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, which will make follow-up care a hassle for me and for most of my family who will provide support. So I am looking for someone who practices on the west side of the Twin Cities. I'm thinking about someone at Abbott Northwestern or Fairview Southdale. I would absolutely love to have this surgery at Mayo in Rochester, but that only amplifies the distance issues. (If anyone from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area has had this surgery at Mayo, I would really appreciate hearing about how you handled follow-up and therapy.) Can anyone recommend a surgeon? I would also like to hear about experiences at any of these hospitals. My insurance allows for a second opinion, but I get only one shot at this so I would appreciate having as much information as possible before deciding on a surgeon and hospital. If anyone has experience at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, I would appreciate hearing about that too. Thanks.

Hello @sleepykat, You will notice that we moved your post to the discussion where you were previously discussing your surgery so that @azzurro1999 and other members will see your latest post and be able to respond. If you click the VIEW & REPLY button at the bottom of this email notification it will take you to the discussion.

Thanks for getting back to me. I am seeing Dr. Kroshus now and really like him. At the time I first saw him, I was working near the U and my cardiologist (also near the U) recommended him. I would be fine with him doing the surgery. But I am retired now and live in the western suburbs and the drive to St. Paul via 94 is not as fun as it once was. Follow-up care after the surgery would, I suspect but haven't confirmed, would be at Regions and that concerns me. So I want to check out other options while I still can. Your comments about Regions are very reassuring and I may still end up getting the surgery done there. I just want to get this right. Dr. K says my valves are fine - for now. But that could change if I don't get this done in the near future. Geez. I did not want to have to deal with this during a pandemic. I have lousy timing...

I am considering Mayo for my repair. I also live alone and I live in Minneapolis. How did you handle after care? Are you in Rochester? If not, did you have to travel there for rehab or could that be done elsewhere? All of this will go into my decision about a surgeon and hospital. I only get one second opinion so I am trying to learn from other's experiences.

I just joined this group seeking information because of my own aortic aneurysm. But I am also the daughter of a man who passed from a AAA in 1971. I was 18. My sisters were 20, 14 and 12. My mother was devastated by Dad's passing, as were our finances. Our lives were challenging for years afterwards. I hope your husband is well and he has either had surgery or has a great doctor. You and your children need your husband and dad and I hope everything is done to keep him with you. Thank goodness we now are able to fix AAs now, as opposed to 50 years ago. I hope they are or were able to fix your husband's.

I had Mayo repair my aneurysm in 2016. Great experience in terms of care in the hospital. Would always go there for this complex surgery. After care which was not much except for seeing if you are healing is done by your local doctor. Rehab is set up by Mayo but done near your home. Went back to Mayo at their request after 2-3 months. Since then, I go once a year and usually only for one day. Tests and seeing the doctor are done the same day if there are no problems. Would highly recommend Mayo.

I was living in Roseville at the time of my surgery so admittedly, much easier access to Regions than coming from the west of TC. Having said that, there really was not much of the follow up care that required travel to Regions. If I recall correctly, my first appointment after the surgery was with my GP ( within 7 days post op, to check on scar healing and my general health, my GP was not to happy about it as she did not feel she had much expertise in assessing surgical wounds of such a magnitude, she ended up taking photos and emailing them to the surgical team to double check). The first appointments at Regions, surgical and cardio follow ups, were at 4w post op. I had them scheduled on the same day so just one trip.
I did develop mild AFib and had to go back to get the monitor, etc, but all in all, there were surprisingly few appointments post op at Regions.
My echocardiograms were done at one of the Health Partners location that was the most convenient for me, CT-Scan was at Regions ( I am now at once every 5y schedule for CT, yearly for the echo)
Seen the cardio at Regions initially, then at one of the HP clinics where she was seeing patients - again, out of convenience.
I had a choice re cardiac rehab locations, Regions had several to chose from, went for the one with the easiest access from Roseville at that time ( on University which was next to my GP’s location)

My diagnosis was sudden, the surgery followed soon after. I also considered going to Mayo, but I had 3 school age kids at home ( plus an exchange student!) back then and was worried about logistics. Meeting with dr.Kroshus was very reassuring to me and so I decided to stick with Regions. Really, no regrets.

Ultimately, if you have time/option to chose you should try to find what works best for you and where you feel comfortable and safe.
The team at Regions works well and close together, I felt I was well taken care of while there.

I spent 5 days at the hospital, the staff was superb.

Back at home, my absolute life saver was an old Ekorness recliner with an ottoman. I slept in it for a couple of months after the surgery.

The few things that I wish were done better:

****the dietary info provided to patients starting on Warfarin. I got the usual sweeping statement “stay clear of leafy greens” and bunch of print outs. I had to educate myself a lot about Warfarin and how to balance one’s diet while on it.
****more info about the scar care, especially once it is closed and free of scab. There is lots of tension around the incision, I wish I were told about different massage techniques and extra treatments that could help with healing, scarring, prevention of keloids, etc.

Also, my cardio affiliated with Regions was not very supportive regarding the idea of self testing INR as opposed to the usual “see you in 4 -6 w” schedule at the clinic. I think home testing should be encouraged and supported for patients capable/willing to do it - much like diabetics do.
Once the INR is stable, patients should have the option of self-testing at home with the the once a month or so “control check up” at the clinic. Those of us who are on Warfarin for life have way too much at stake to be comfortable with the schedules proposed by clinics.

I just relocated to Switzerland, the dr and insurance here had no problem with prescribing/covering the INR tester for home use. I am looking forward to having more control over my INR, being able to check for any correlations between my diet and INR, during travels etc.
It is ever so much more pressing to have this option in times of pandemic!

I wish you all the best!

My experiance is that Mayo is very good about treating patients from the Twin Cities. I have been treated by them for the past 3 years monitoring the growth of my aneurysms. After my workup there, I get my yearly CTA at the U of MN and they push it to Mayo where the MD evaluates it and coordinates with my primary care physician. When I need to get them fixed, I plan to go down there for the operation and short term follow up and the return home.
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Rich Peterson