Hello Mark, I am Hal, and I am 57 yrs old and three months ago I had a aorta aneurysm repair with a artificial splice and a valve replacement of the left ventricular chamber. My number was 5.7, and doctors said it needed repaired. If your mother is 5.2 and with her age, I am a little surprised that they are recommending the surgery, as it is very hard to recover from even for my age. It would be a difficult surgery for your mom to recover from. I had a second opinion with another surgeon who told me that even at 5.7 that I could wait and have another ct scan at 6 months intervals to monitor the size. I decided to have the surgery anyway with the first surgeon. For your monther at that age it would be more risky and difficult I'm sure than myself at 57 yrs., so I wondering why a surgeon would not prefer monitoring with periodical exams instead of surgery right away. This is just my opinion. At three months after surgery I am back at work, and getting stronger, but it takes time to heal and get my strength back. Good luck with your mom. Hal