Thoracic aortic aneurysm: Anyone had surgery?

I was going to wait until it is around 5cm and then go to Mayos. Should I start there sooner?

I understand your fear. My dr. said it would be open heart surgery for me.

Thank you it does. I’m with kaiser now switching to blue so I can choose. I’m in LA so have cedars and UCLA and have also reached out to mayo of course question looms over what technology will be available when I need it whenever I need it if I do.

If it helps any to diminish a little of your fears, I will tell you that in 2016 I was 78 years old and had the surgery for repair of aortic aneurysm. My surgery was done at Mayo in Rochester and I can honestly say it was not that difficult of a recovery. It was the only major surgery I've had in my long life. I cannot praise enough my surgeon, Dr. Pochettino and his staff, each and every one of them were the best. I went into the surgery room with complete confidence that all would be positive and it was. It is best to have complete trust in your surgeon as I believe that helps so much for a quick recovery. Hope this info is helpful to you.

Yes here I’m scared now , for the future surgery or not. Hard to live scared , telling my self all will be ok not knowing has sent me into a depression and therapy. On top I keep thinking that it’s possibly self inflicted cause everything I thought was harmless palpitations. My kiddos are my angels that I love so much and need to be here with as you do your son. My girls are 3 and 5. My aneurysm was 4.3 on last months ct down from 4.6 in June somehow. Confused and living on a prayer - nightmare that never ends - our minds have to over power cause it seems we don’t have a choice.

You are totally welcome. I'm so thankful that I found this site. It is nice to know that you aren't alone. I will admit though, that the thought of having to have this surgery scares me. I just pray that it doesn't come to that for myself, my son and you! Meanwhile, keep on keeping on and enjoy life and those kiddos of yours.

Thank you so much for Sharing and your comforting words. I suppose also comforting is that if a repair is needed it’s repairable with a high rate of success as I hear. Thank you again as I find my self re-reading your thoughtful words. Nice to have support from those who understand as well.

I understand that you are scared. I am too, but I try not to dwell on it. My internal medicine doc told me a year and a half ago, that I would have to have my aorta and valve replaced immediately. Two of the cardio docs, disagree, saying my valve is working fine, and we just need to watch the aorta to see how quickly it grows. My son, who is only 37 also has the aortic aneurysm and they are watching him yearly with an echo. We both just go on living and try not to let this define us. I follow doctors orders, not lifting over 25 lbs, exercise and eat healthy. Try not to dwell on why this is happening to you or what you did to cause this...its not your fault, sometimes is just the luck of the draw.

Thank you - completely agree - I can’t stop thinking about it and not sure if I did this to my self through gnc supplements as was sensitive to palpitations the following days even though the dr’s say unlikely. Can’t find normal cause either. At 47 all I can do is hope and pray for my self and my family- have 2 babies so the journey is rough.

I have none of the normal "causes" for this, it is a mystery. It is hard to find any information that is not "doctor targeted". Even the doctors don't talk about the "journey". You are either ready for surgery or not ready. The part that we all deal with in between finding out and getting it fixed seems to be ignored as if it is not important. I don't know about the rest of you but it is important enough to be on my mind a lot. It is nice to have this connection to people that have the same thing on their mind and understand that it is a big deal.