Experience with AAA and outcomes?

klt052194

Anyone had or care for someone who had surgery for an ascending aortic aneurysm (AAA)? Open chest or endovascular? Recovery? Quality of life? How did you decide it was time for the surgery? Any diet or exercises to help?
I don't know anyone who's been down this path and I'm very concerned about my longevity and quality of life. Darn it, I just retired 2 years ago. I'm supposed to be in my prime post retirement, not facing this. I don't know which end is up anymore.

LeeH31

My father had it. Surgery was successful, but his heart gave out on the table and the efforts to revive him blew out the new repair. It is a very serious surgery. Dad was 83 at the time, in good shape. Totally unexpected outcome.

That being said, it really depends on the size of your aneurysm, how thin the walls of the aneurysm is, how willing you are to limit your strenuous activity, and what your doctor says about it.

My dad could have waited, it wasn't at a critical point, but he was afraid it would blow and my mom wouldn't know (dementia) and he worried she wouldn't know to call someone.

It is such a serious surgery-they told my dad it was a 50/50 chance of dying on the table, but Dad always thought he could make it through anything.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but that's part of making the decision.

klt052194

LeeH31 wrote: »

My father had it. Surgery was successful, but his heart gave out on the table and the efforts to revive him blew out the new repair. It is a very serious surgery. Dad was 83 at the time, in good shape. Totally unexpected outcome.

That being said, it really depends on the size of your aneurysm, how thin the walls of the aneurysm is, how willing you are to limit your strenuous activity, and what your doctor says about it.

My dad could have waited, it wasn't at a critical point, but he was afraid it would blow and my mom wouldn't know (dementia) and he worried she wouldn't know to call someone.

It is such a serious surgery-they told my dad it was a 50/50 chance of dying on the table, but Dad always thought he could make it through anything.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but that's part of making the decision.

Thank you for the information. I saw a specialist at Cleveland Clinic Aug 16-17. He said 1% risk of stroke and 0.5 % risk of death for me. Must be different than how your dad's was, plus I'm 67. My AAA is 5 cm.
The surgeon said I could think about surgery for 6 months and retest stuff again. But it's been the same size for 1 year now. Not sure how fast these things change. I never knew I had it until a wellness exam!
My dad had 3 triple bypass surgeries and died on the table during the last surgery. Not aneurysms, but I know the feeling of losing a dad during surgery. 😔
I also know the feeling of having an aneurysm sitting on top your heart. I feel much like a ticking time bomb. The decision is risk the AAA surgery and it's possible outcomes but be rid of it or don't have the surgery and have this scarey feeling it might rupture and then the chances of death are closer to 90%.
What to do??? Eats at my head a lot.

LydenS

Hi klt052194,

Did you make a decision regarding surgery? I was diagnosed with a 4.7 cm ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm in late 2020, found incidentally in a scan for something unrelated. I'm due for a follow-up CT next month. The cardiothoracic surgeon told me that given my age (45) and its current size, I'll probably need surgery to prevent dissection. I try not to think about it, but it's just always in the back of my mind.

If anyone else has had a similar situation--yourself or a family member--I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you!