Are there new breakthroughs for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm surgeries?

My Vascular surgeon wants to place a stint in my abdominal aorta to block blood flow to my aneurysm. He mentioned that this could affect my colon. Maybe 1% of those having this proceedure done experience this. I'm still confused about this. Can someone add any information about this that would better help me to understand. I'm stressed out. Thank you

Hello @bachy, I moved your discussion and combined it with a discussion titled, "Are there new breakthroughs for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm surgeries" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/are-there-new-breakthroughs-for-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-surgeries/ to meet @suzie71 who was also wondering and had some anxiety about Abdominal aortic aneurysm surgeries. I'd like to invite @luckybear and @heather1976 to this conversation as well.

@bachy - Has your vascular surgeon talked about how invasive the surgery will be or what the recovery is like?

Hello Justin! My surgeon told me that they will go up through my groan, both sides and place a fabric covered stint at the saccular aneurysm to cut off the blood supply to the aneurysm. The part that has me really stressed out is that the colon gets blood from the arota and sometimes (1%) persons need to have some of their colon removed. I do no understand any of that and he explained it twice. Here again, I have a saccular aneurysm and it is from what I was told, more likely to repture than others. Mine is 1 3/8 " in length. Prayers for everyone. Best Regards, John

I have a Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm that I have had since Jan of 2020, and it has only grown slightly over the past 4 years. I am due again in April to check the size. My last one was 3.9 Centimeters. I know when it gets to a 5 that surgery is required. My prayers go out to everyone who is dealing with this problem. It is not a easy surgery no matter what type you have as I have been told. For John, you mentioned that 1% of people might need surgery to the colon also. That is a small percentage. Just Trust God. If he got you to it then he will get you through it. Please keep everyone updated, as it can help others with questions.

Thank you Susie71! I do trust God also. I will keep everyone updated. Best Regards, Bachy (Bachy was my nickname in High School)

I will post my results after I get my Ultrasound and see my doctor in April. God has gotten me through the worst of times, and I believe he will get me through this also. Have a good week.

Hi John,
It sounds like your surgeon is being more cautious than mine. I have a 3.2cm (1.25inches)saccular aneurysm on my abdominal aorta and also one measuring 2.3cm on my common iliac. Sounds like the one on your aorta is about the same size as mine and my surgeon says he won't operate yet but when it is time it will probably be the open surgery as I am still fairly young (47). I have also read that saccular aneurysms are more likely to rupture. Added to that, I also have anoher saccular aneurysm on my iliac, and I am female - all things I have read which would make an operation more imperative and yet still my surgeon doesn't want to operate. Maybe after my scan in May he might change his mind if it has grown. I will have to wait and see. In themean while I'm left very anxious and worried about exerting myself and am fearful of traveling anywhere where there isn't a good hospital within a 15 minute drive! I do not want to have to have the op but if I need it then I would like to get it over with. The recovery sounds bad (worse for women apparently) and the younger you are when you have it the stronger you are for the recovery. But it does sound like a life changing operation so it is really an unpleasant situation to be left in. That does sounds scary about the colon but if your surgeon recommends surgery I would trust them. Basically there is no good way to look at out situations unfortunately. We just need to hope it all works out. I have spent too many nights laying awake being terriefied. These days I try to pretend it doesn't exist. Neither are great!

Hello Heather1976!
Thank you for post. I'm sorry to hear about your condition and I will keep you in my prayers.
Best Regards,
John

Hi, I had an AAA it grew to 5.2 cm and 4 years ago I had the surgery to have it repaired. The difficulty in the surgery depends a lot on your general health and fitness, my Dr gave me a 99+% chance of full success/no complications based on my general fitness (I exercised frequently, never smoked, no other underlying conditions, in my mid 50's back then), for me it was a no brainer, my Aneurysm was very large especially compared to my body size, in my mind just a time bomb. I had it fixed 2 months after it was found (had to wait a little as it was found while getting me prep'ed for leg fracture surgery and they want you walking right after surgery). Not going to lie, immediately after recovery is tough, painful and felt horrible at times. Recovered fast though, out of hospital in 5-6 days, back to work in 3 weeks

I am impressed with how quickly you recovered! My aneurysm is at 4.2 now. 65 yo female, good health and fit. In a wait and see routine. Where did you have your surgery? Curious if you sought out either Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic.