Abdominal aortic aneurysm: How did you do with AAA surgery?

Posted by miracle1 @miracle1, Sep 2, 2019

Would like to know how patients did with AAA surgery.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Aortic Aneurysms Support Group.

Hello @miracle1 and welcome to Mayo Connect

When you post "AAA sugery" I'm assuming that you are referring to surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, is that correct? Have you been told that you need this type of surgery? If you are comfortable sharing a bit more about yourself, what size is the aneurysm; how long have you known about it; is your doctor planning on doing the open surgery or the type of surgery where a catheter is used?

While we wait for other Members of Connect to respond to your inquiry, I thought you might find this Mayo Clinic video helpful in understanding more about this procedure, Here is the link:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/cardiovascular-diseases/videos/abdominal-aortic-aneurysms-update-on-surveillance-and-repair/vid-20432848

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My sister is having surgery at Mayo for AAA surgery. As a caregiver I wanted to know what I need to plan?

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Now, I understand what you are wanting, @miracle1.

I'd like to direct you to a discussion group about AAA on Connect. Here you will see others who have dealt with this health issue. Here is the link to that discussion, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/aortic-aneurysms-introduce-yourself-meet-others/?commentsorderby=DESC#chv4-comment-stream-header.

In that discussion group is @kimspr3 whose mother (in her 70's) had the surgery. I'm inviting @kimspr3 to this discussion so that she can give you more information as a caregiver to someone who had the surgery.

@miracle1 Do you know which type of surgery your sister is having?

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I have a friend in town who had a 7cm one who is in her seventies. She was operated on here. She is doing ok . It saved her life but she has afib as a result. She was very athletic and previously a PE teacher.

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@anniejam

I have a friend in town who had a 7cm one who is in her seventies. She was operated on here. She is doing ok . It saved her life but she has afib as a result. She was very athletic and previously a PE teacher.

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@anniejam I don't think how physically fit we are determines who gets an aneurysm. I think genetics play a huge role. It is simply a weakness in the artery wall. It can be triggered by consistently high blood pressure or by smoking or by obesity but not everyone who has high blood pressure or who has smoked or has been obese develops this condition.

We also need to remember that as a population, we are living much longer and medical science can find these abnormalities much more easily than in the past. Before CTs and MRIs, I think the only way to find the aneurysm was by autopsy. We are fortunate to be aware of our diagnosis while we are still kicking and have it monitored and repaired as necessary.

Afib can strike just about anyone, with or without an aneurysm repair. There are medications to treat that and also ablations of the heart muscle that is causing the afib. I wish your friend well.

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@hopeful33250

Now, I understand what you are wanting, @miracle1.

I'd like to direct you to a discussion group about AAA on Connect. Here you will see others who have dealt with this health issue. Here is the link to that discussion, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/aortic-aneurysms-introduce-yourself-meet-others/?commentsorderby=DESC#chv4-comment-stream-header.

In that discussion group is @kimspr3 whose mother (in her 70's) had the surgery. I'm inviting @kimspr3 to this discussion so that she can give you more information as a caregiver to someone who had the surgery.

@miracle1 Do you know which type of surgery your sister is having?

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We live in Louisville, Ky. My sister had two repaired one month ago. She will be going back for the other three to be repaired with stent as soon as it arrives from Australia and surgery by Dr. Oderich. Being from out of town I was looking to see if all goes perf3ct approximately how long of stay in hospital and then rehab ?
I did call concierge and they gave me the name of hotels directly across from St. Mary’s.
I have forwarded this link to my sister and hope she will find it beneficial and gives her a little peace of mind,
Thank you so much.

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Hello everyone. I have an annual ultrasound and so far so good. I have used a manual wheelchair since 1984 following the surgery. I did not lose sensation. I get terribly swollen feet. The swelling used to really go down overnight now just a little. However as soon as I put my feet down we are back to square one. Probably due to sitting and poor circulation. I put my shoes on before I put my feet down! I am not in any pain except a little from rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. I count myself very lucky and I enjoy life.

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@1825

Hello everyone. I have an annual ultrasound and so far so good. I have used a manual wheelchair since 1984 following the surgery. I did not lose sensation. I get terribly swollen feet. The swelling used to really go down overnight now just a little. However as soon as I put my feet down we are back to square one. Probably due to sitting and poor circulation. I put my shoes on before I put my feet down! I am not in any pain except a little from rheumatoid arthritis in my hands. I count myself very lucky and I enjoy life.

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Hi @1825,

I was wondering how you're doing? I really like that last sentence in your post, above:"I count myself very lucky and I enjoy life."

I also wanted to mention this journal article I found online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1533316714000065
Paraplegia after abdominal aortic surgery is quite rare, and could be caused by the imbalance of oxygen demand and oxygen delivery or "critical interruption of the spinal cord blood supply" during the procedure. Have you talked to your doctor about the swelling in your feet?

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@kanaazpereira

Hi @1825,

I was wondering how you're doing? I really like that last sentence in your post, above:"I count myself very lucky and I enjoy life."

I also wanted to mention this journal article I found online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1533316714000065
Paraplegia after abdominal aortic surgery is quite rare, and could be caused by the imbalance of oxygen demand and oxygen delivery or "critical interruption of the spinal cord blood supply" during the procedure. Have you talked to your doctor about the swelling in your feet?

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There were two approaches to repairing the aneurysms unfortunately I was quite sick so there was only one option and that had only a 3% success rate. So lucky to be here! I started an organization SCITCS 31 years ago. See AlbertaSCITCS Facebook and scitcs.org.
Swollen feet due to PAD and of course sitting for 34 years, hot weather contributes as well. Unfortunately people comment which can be embarrassing. “Better to be looked over than overlooked” I think! Thank you for remembering and enquiring. Very kind of you.

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I had open surgery Dec.18 2018 to repair a 5.7 cm tear in the root of the aorta. I am now worried about not having been in any type of rehab/exercise program following the surgery. I do get "winded" after going up and down stairs and need to sit down to catch my breath. I am still taking pain medication -- only 1 every 12 hours now-- but am tired most of the time. Is there a regime of exercises I can do to get back to feeling myself again? I would appreciate any feedback about recovery time and protocols following surgery.

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