Abdominal aortic dissection

Greetings from Mayo Clinic! 🙂

Alright, so I'm 36. Back in 2015, I had surgery at Magdalena for an ascending aortic aneurysm—it was about 7cm—and they put in artificial valves while they were at it. Honestly, the recovery sucked, so I won't even get into it.
Once I finally got back on my feet, I started doing private checkups every three months. On that very first one, they caught an abdominal aortic aneurysm during an ultrasound (about 10cm long and 35mm wide). Fast forward to an ultrasound scan at a hospital in Warsaw, where they actually found an aortic dissection right before the bifurcation (scan was April 26th, results came in May 3rd). I set an appointment with my GP for May 5th, but he sent me over to Warsaw for an MSCT, and then they referred me to Mayo Clinic. After I basically talked my way out of emergency surgery—mostly because since that April 26th scan, I'd been driving all over the Midwest, from Ilok to Warsaw to Indianapolis, without feeling a single thing—they admitted me to the ward. They ran an emergency MSCT (angiography?) of the whole artery and found a dissection running the entire length of the abdominal aorta, though it’s somehow spiraling, so everything is still getting plenty of blood flow and there aren't any other issues yet. Now, they say they're keeping me through the weekend and letting me head home tomorrow, Monday... then I have to figure out my next steps with the clinic at Magdalena. The weird part is I haven't had any of those typical pains you read about with dissections. I guess the only thing was around October last year, when I felt like I was having a stroke—woke up at 5 AM with a massive headache and some serious brain fog, but it cleared up after a few hours (I went to the hospital for every test imaginable and everything came back fine). Then for the next two months, I just dealt with intense, frequent headaches, and that was it.
Any thoughts, comments, or advice? Thanks.

Paul Bennett8 said:Greetings from Mayo Clinic! 🙂

Alright, so I'm 36. Back in 2015, I had surgery at Magdalena for an ascending aortic aneurysm—it was about 7cm—and they put in artificial valves while they were at it. Honestly, the recovery sucked, so I won't even get into it.
Once I finally got back on my feet, I started doing private checkups every three months. On that very first one, they caught an abdominal aortic aneurysm during an ultrasound (about 10cm long and 35mm wide). Fast forward to an ultrasound scan at a hospital in Warsaw, where they actually found an aortic dissection right before the bifurcation (scan was April 26th, results came in May 3rd). I set an appointment with my GP for May 5th, but he sent me over to Warsaw for an MSCT, and then they referred me to Mayo Clinic. After I basically talked my way out of emergency surgery—mostly because since that April 26th scan, I'd been driving all over the Midwest, from Ilok to Warsaw to Indianapolis, without feeling a single thing—they admitted me to the ward. They ran an emergency MSCT (angiography?) of the whole artery and found a dissection running the entire length of the abdominal aorta, though it’s somehow spiraling, so everything is still getting plenty of blood flow and there aren't any other issues yet. Now, they say they're keeping me through the weekend and letting me head home tomorrow, Monday... then I have to figure out my next steps with the clinic at Magdalena. The weird part is I haven't had any of those typical pains you read about with dissections. I guess the only thing was around October last year, when I felt like I was having a stroke—woke up at 5 AM with a massive headache and some serious brain fog, but it cleared up after a few hours (I went to the hospital for every test imaginable and everything came back fine). Then for the next two months, I just dealt with intense, frequent headaches, and that was it.
Any thoughts, comments, or advice? Thanks.

My late uncle had the exact same issue—a tear running the full length from his stomach up toward his heart. It happened while he was pulling a boat out of the water; the pain hit him like a freight train. Since nobody could patch it up via ST, they sent him to NYC to Dubrava, where Dr. Biocin barely agreed to operate on him. In the end, they stabilized him, even if it wasn't a perfect fix along the whole length, and he got another 15 good years out of life. He eventually passed away from old age, realistically speaking.
I don't know if Dr. Biocin is still practicing or where he's located, but if you can track him down, I’d highly recommend begging him for his take on this.
Look, you are essentially a walking time bomb. They weren't being dramatic by rushing you into emergency surgery. With a situation like this, your aorta could rupture at any second, and you could drop dead instantly—whether you're walking down the street or straining in the bathroom. When it came to my uncle, the medical board was literally debating whether to transport him by car, plane, or helicopter because the risk was so high.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I think Dr. Miller is over at Mercy Hospital