What support would I need along my surgical journey?

When you have had a decision made that you are going to undergo aortic surgery, whether that is by stent or open, I very much would advise that you take the time in clinic or over the phone if you're having a telephone consultation to really talk through what's going to happen, what your options are so that you can feel comfortable with the decision that you are making. It is really about it being a joint decision with the surgeons, the medical colleagues looking after you and yourself and your family. So please do take the time to ask all the questions how long surgery is going to take, when it will happen, how long your recovery period will be, what you can do to make things easier for your body on surgery, what things you may need to set up in the post-operative period when you go home from having surgery, how long you may have to stay in hospital and what the hospital stay entails, as well as all the risks and complications associated with any surgical operation that you're undergoing. This is more important with something like abdominal aortic surgery because it is a higher risk procedure.