Thoracic aortic aneurysm: Anyone had surgery?

Hello,
My first surgery was 1978 Montefura(sp) in New York City(We lived upstate New York, why I ended up there. I was 13 years old. Have no idea the procedure time, I was in the hospital for about 1.5 weeks.
My 2nd surgery was 2005, Memorial Herman, Houston Texas. Live ~200 miles away and the Cardiac Center has lots of recognition. I was lucky to be near well qualified help. My age was 49 years old. Surgery was about 5 hours, in Cardiac ICU for 2 days, and Cardiac Recovery for 18 days. First two days was like learning how to live again. I was cut radially following the rib-line, and one rib was removed permanently to allow the dr. sufficient room for doing the aneurysm repair. When they opened me up it was one big matted mess of scar tissue and organs. This was probably the major time consumer. The delta between the first surgery in 1978 and then allowed my body to grow lots of scar tissue. The extended stay at the hospital was due to my chest drainage not letting up. I had lots of incisions inside of me and they were all draining. This was not normal. I would think this would be different for you.
Couldn't eat or swallow for 7 days after the surgery. Had me on TPN(Total Parental Nutrition) IV and I was never hungry. Wish I had an IV of that stuff at home for long movies like Dances With Wolves!
This surgery was the single most difficult task I have accomplished in my life.

Keep your chin up.

Sincerely,
Bruce

Thanks for your detailed response. Very helpful Couple of quick questions , if u don't mind.
Where did u have your surgery and how long was it? How was the Post Op and how long was your total stay in hospital? Thanks again for your very helpful response. Will keep my fingers crossed re my surgery.

Colleen: Thank You for the information. That helps.

Good question @grandmajan.
This article from Mayo Clinic http://mayocl.in/2eL520R states "Many start small and stay small, although many expand over time. How quickly an aortic aneurysm may grow is difficult to predict." Understanding the cause of the aneurysm can be a clue as to what causes it to grow, ie high blood pressure. It sounds like there is no single answer that applies to everyone, and explains why active monitoring is important.

Hello,
Your situation is similar to mine, a good amount of time between procedures. Your body has probably formed some scar tissue that has manifested itself on your chest cavity around the areas cut on. They will have to deal with this to get to the items needing repair. For instance my Aorta had fused itself to my Esophagus(sp). I was confused when they couldn't give me a definitive time of how long the surgery would take. The variable was scar tissue, and each persons body responds differently. In-fact they knew at the time my Aortic Valve was leaking and only had 2 leaflets, where normal is 3. Just fixing the Aneurysm was all they had time to do. So today, I have a perfect Aorta, and will some day have to contend with the valve. If your left lung gets collapsed during the procedure for additional room for the Dr. to work, do all the treatments and rehab to rejuvenate the lung. Try your hardest. If you don't it may not fully return. I'm dealing with a 50%+ reduction in lung capacity due to my two surgeries. I'm not sure I did all I could do to prevent this.

All the best.
Bruce

Hi Colleen: Do we know what makes the Aortic Aneurysm expand? or stretch ? Mine is 4.3 and has been that since 2006.

Glad to see your post. I am 67 yrs old and underwent a bypass surgery with Aortic Valve replacement 14 yrs ago. Now I have been recommended to have surgery for an enlarged Aortic Aneurysm (5.7CM) and replacement of Aortic Valve with a mechanical valve. They may also redo some bypasses. Have visited Dr. Nishimura and Dr Pochettino recently. Concerned about length of surgery and the post op care and the risk associated. I am generally in good health and have no other health issues. Any comments and opinions welcome.

Let us know the results what you get them @srlove.

Thanks for the great info. Fingers crossed...

Thanks to you all for sharing. I am at a 4.3 cm but also have an enlarged pulmonary artery (4.2 cm and should be a 2.5). Have decided to delay CT two weeks till my Medicare kicks in. Then will have CT and whatever tests cardiologist wants. No medical info from father side. Mom's side cancer, and some heart disease but not aneurism. I feel a little better knowing that you all are out there. Thanks so much!