Maybe if you could jam a board into the pot you could mount it like an orchid! Check out some picks of mounted orchids on ebay- they can look really nice..

You can cut the bare stem about an inch from the first set of leaves (a serrated knife works well) and then peel back some of the remnants of the old leaf bases on that bare stem. You should find some yellowish nubs that could be either roots or runners. After you've exposed those nubs, bury that stem up to the first set of leaves at the bottom of the plant and it will start to grow roots and stabilize itself again. No need to keep going with a palm-treed aloe! :)

--Byron.

I always feel so sorry for plants grown inside away from the sun and root run that they desperately need. This one would have gotten to its stage much shorter in a shorter amount of time , developed stem pups and become a thriving bush outdoors. I know that you can't give it its requirements and will always be in a situation of trying to make do.Is this Aloe arborescens? Leaves don't look quite right. Do you know the species? When you decapitate it , it will pup more hopefully and give it more of a bush form. Can you give it more light? can you bring it out doors under cover from the rain when it is not freezing in Portland? I am guessing that that is what PDX means. I am just a Texan guessing what your conditions are. I have the same Zone as you and I do some carrying in and out during the winter but I know that we are worlds apart in the character of our environs . I am imagining that the rain in combo with your cold is your worst enemy. I should paraphrase that HERE IN TEXAS, the more that my plants are out doors, the better they look. I have mine under a south facing porch in winter.I carried them inside last night but I could have left them. They go back out today. They get to color up from the winter sun. I know, that winter and sun are a oxymoron in Portland .

Thanks to all for advice. I had tried mounting but aloe was just too heavy & twisted. The "operation" went well, let's hope the patient survives. I will move it to a sunnier window in 5 days to avoid more shock at present. Don't know the species. Wintering outdoors is not an option in NYC. I'll keep you posted.

Picture post surgery

Oh it looks great. Mine's getting too big for my windowsill but it doesn't have a trunk to cut off.

My mistake, I was looking at Byron's PDX. Serves me right for entering while running around my shop working.