Thoracic aortic aneurysm: Anyone had surgery?

I was interested in the 7.0 limit they gave you for the Ascending Aorta If that is now the standard it gives me a bit more leeway. At a similar age to you I would prefer not to have to worry about it.

Yes, I was very relieved. And I was told once the aneurysm reaches 6 cm they will do a CT every 6 months instead of every year to determine how fast it grows, then discuss my options for surgery, which again the doc expressed it is open heart surgery but not Bypass Surgery for the Ascending. The descending Anuerysm and the Iliac Aneurysms can be repaired by Angio Gram, not open surgery, but mine are so tiny in those places and have been there since 2015, it is doubtful they will grow big enough in the rest of my lifetime. I just lost a sister from the Ascending Aneurysm Rupture. She was 9 years younger then me, so 72 years old, but she refused the surgery when hers reached 7 cm, lasted another year, but what really caused hers to rupture was she moved 2 weeks before the rupture and helped move heavy furniture. It is important that you do not lift heavy items and very important to limit any stress in your life. Worrying about my Aneurysms caused me a lot of stress. Now I have put that stress away and will see how it goes. My next CT is in March. Last CT was Mar 2021. We will see if it has grown any. They found this Ascending Aneurysm also in 2015 and it has grown a lot faster then the others, so have faith that now it will not grow.

I was at the Mayo Clinic in 2019 for a non related health issues however my primary case doctor advised that the ascending thoracic aorta aneurysm is genetic and it is important to tell my children and siblings so they could get a CT which my children did but my siblings chose not to.. I remember the actor John Ritter died from this. His brother was tested and had the same defect. In my case in 2011 I didn't want to live in fear of it rupturing.

I am so perplexed why your siblings refused to get tested. My dad an aortic aneurysm in his abdomen. His eventually ruptured but he survived the surgery. I was getting regular sonograms for something else so the technician would check it for me. My two brother’s never bothered to get tested and one died on the operating table. He was 56 and left behind a wife and two children, his youngest was 14 at the time. We were and still are beyond devastated. The other sibling like yours has not gotten tested. I will never understand the reasoning behind this, you can survive this.
My mother in law had an ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm and had open heart surgery at 82, her aneurysm measured 7.2 and she survived and passed away at 91. My husband currently has the same his mom’s and it was 4.8 and now with medication his is 4.2 and he gets checked regularly. I have three grown children, I encourage them to get checked every couple of years to see if they have one.

Sadly I don't understand it either. I pray it doesn't happen to them.

I'm interested in how you feel overall if some deficits have improved ie; lung, energy, cognitive,
weight ect. I am 72 and following ascending aortic aneurism some 15 yrs. Now Need valve with the repair @ 5.4 cm and cardiomegaly. I'm somewhat miffed that they didn't repair me earlier nor did they investigate cause ie infection genetics. My B/P was always good I'm on no meds other than what consider age related memory problems and shortness of breath on CPAP with some weakness I continue to work 3/5 d wk.

I am your same age and as a rule feel good. I opted for a mechanical heart valve because it was supposed to last a lifetime. Because of that I have been on blood thinners. I was just recently diagnosed with a stroke that was heart related. My cardiologist increased my blood thinners, put me on blood pressure medication even though it wasn't out of control and increased my cholesterol medication to try to prevent another stroke. The stroke was found by my neurologist who was following up on my brain. I had a brain tumor which was surgically removed 4 years ago. As a result of that surgery I have balance problems and need to use a cane.
I have recently been diagnosed with 2 aneurysms on my spleen during a routine ctscan. They are small and my vascular surgeon isn't concerned but wants to follow up in a year.

SAW cardiac surgeon. he stated that aortic replacement will not improve my overall health and it is only preventative, I've had this for 20 yrs. without any known cause. "grey" area, the good news I will not pursue surgery at 72 yrs off age. Instead will persue weight loss that shows to decrease sizeof the aorta. I appreciate all who have commented andI wish you good luck.

thank you, for the post good luck.

What size is your aneurysm and where is it? You need to know how he made this decision so you can decide if it is the RIGHT decision.
Certainly weight loss and a healthy life style will help keep you safe but trusting a specific cardiac surgeon may be okay - or it may not be.