I had surgery 6 and 1/2 years ago. I was reasonably fit, very motivated, committed to post-surgery PT and I had horrible results. I also had a skilled, experienced surgeon in SF. I was never able to return to working as an attorney, or anything else. I am much worse than I was prior to surgery.

If you are improving with PT, I would see how much better you can get with that. And I would do a gut check about how hard you train, and your expectations for yourself. It's better to be realistic and be able to maintain an active lifestyle, than to try to live up to some prior notion of fitness and end up not being able to do anything.

If you can improve with PT and some lifestyle changes, that's great. Obviously, if you've got an urgent vascular problem, then you won't have much choice. But just go in with your eyes wide open. Too often, people assume that the unsuccessful surgery results are because of poor attitude, malingering, etc. Unfortunately, anyone can be on the wrong side of surgery numbers.

Best of luck in your decision.

Kelly