Cattleya crawling out of its pot

[HentaTenta]

Hi. A friend had this cattleya and was ready to throw it out. I decided to attempt to save it, just never saw a plant getting out of pot like that.
Should I get rid of the majority of dead stems?
Do I orient parts that are alive towards the middle of the new pot?
There are some roots that became aerial, do I force them inside potting media?
Please advise
Thank you

[Roberta]

Those brown pseudobulbs can be trimmed off. (You will probably not find much alive in the pot) The whole plant looks really dehydrated (probably due to bad roots, the medium doesn't look great...). Put in a pot, with the oldest (green) part close to one side, to maximize the amount of growing room. The aerial roots can be placed into the medium. There is new growth and I think I see the beginning of a new root, which says that this is a good time to repot it. The aerial roots also look desiccated, this plant was really neglected. They can serve to keep the plant hydrated (and alive) while it's working on new, efficient roots which will grow into the medium.

[HentaTenta]

Oof, there's really not much to work with. I'll try my best.

There is new growth and I think I see the beginning of a new root, which says that this is a good time to repot it.

Apparently, that new growth has been stunned for the last 2-3 months. I hope I won't kill the plant with all the shock due to repotting.

[Roberta]

Not repotting will certainly kill it... giving those new growths a chance to put down some productive roots is your best chance of saving it.

[estación seca]

Cattleyas can bounce back from severe underwatering, but it can take a long time. I'd suggest soaking it for a few hours before repotting to give it a chance to take up some water. This plant is very vigorous when happy so it could make it.

[Roberta]

I would cut it right next to the last brown pseudobulb. The green one right in front of it might have a decent root or two attached, so even though that pseudobulb is also pretty pathetic, I'd leave it. That will reduce the size to where it can easily fit into the original pot (with fresh medium, of course)

To help that "pre-potting" soak be even more effective, you could put a small amount of sugar (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per liter) in that water. I have seen the sugar trick prescribed as an extra "boost" for rescuing plants that became severely dehydrated in shipping (like 2 weeks in transit from China), would be appropriate here too. Can't hurt and may help.