[gonzo]

As a medical student you'll appreciate that I have a 3-4" stint replacing a section of my aorta, starting about 1mm away from the aortic root.

This to repair an ascending aortic dissection that terminates in my left iliac.

I walked out of the hospital, but the recovery was a PITA.

My core temp got down to 18C (65-66F) for over an hour. (According to the surgical notes I was on the heart lung machine for over 4 hours, and without perfusion for 45 minutes.)

[sanotehu]

I think it's a testament to modern medicine that we can do these sorts of things. Glad to hear you got through the recovery alright. With the operation I saw, they packed the patient's head with ice bags as well as cooling the blood. I remember thinking to myself that I'd hate to be that guy waking up! Something like a large hangover ;)

[gonzo]

Oh yeah, 20 years ago and I'd have never survived the night.

Whole thing is here, http://aorticdissection.com/2011/12/06/jim-thompson-47/ though I assumed that the termination was the right iliac until last Spring, when I had them run a CT on the lower extremities, and found that the termination was in my left leg (and that the false lumen had blocked the iliac in my right leg.)

Maybe when you're a doctor you'll remember, "When the symptoms don't make sense, think dissection" and save someone else.