As I noted last week, my second CCSVI surgery was halted because of the inability to enter the catheter into my left jugular vein with the tools and equipment available in the outpatient surgery center. We are currently awaiting scheduling of the third surgery to be done at the hospital. I am currently injecting the prescribed anticoagulant medication twice a day while I await notice.
I have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that began about 2 years ago. I first got the A-fib condition in 2008 following a hernia operation. As a side note, the hernia arose from straining to evacuate bowel waste because of MS. I was getting the a-fib condition about once every 2 weeks for a day or so initially, and then it tapered way off to once every month or 2. During the summer and fall of 2010, it seemed the frequency had increased to about once a week, and was being brought on by strenuous exercise, which in my case is swimming for 90 minutes 3-5 times a week with a swim team. It didn’t go out of rhythm during the exercise; rather it was happening as the heart rate came down in the 2-3 hours following.
In a joint statement just released, the National MS Society and the MS Society of Canada gave a six month progress report on the seven society-funded, multi-disciplinary teams investigating chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and its possible links to multiple sclerosis.
In unprecedented fast-tracking last spring, the U.S. and Canadian MS societies gave more than $2.4 million (USD) to the seven “shovel-ready” projects proposed by teams of experts in the fields of radiology, ultrasound, vascular surgery, and neurology. These studies were chosen from scores of applicants by an international team of experts in relevant fields as having the greatest potential to quickly and comprehensively determine the significance of CCSVI for multiple sclerosis.
Fearing my veins had closed back on me, it was again time to begrudgingly go see Dr. Arata at Pacific Interventional, and packed up and drove the 4 hours to Orange County. We arrived at the new digs they now recommend for CCSVI patients, the Ayers Hotel on Bristol St. at the junction of the 55 and 73 freeways, just 10 minutes from the office. It’s an awfully nice hotel for the price, kind of a stately Victorian look and feel, and they had a little goody pack in the room for us specially prepared from the Pacific Interventional staff. A lot of people travel a long way for this surgery, and I think this touch would help settle a lot of nerves.
Dr. Michael Dake,
a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine, recently said:
"It's a stretch to think opening up veins is going to deal with or reverse an injury that is due to demyelinating plaque, whereas the symptoms that are more general, such as fatigue and brain fog that are much more related to an obstruction in venous outflow from the brain -- those could potentially be reversed." (link)
1Vascular Disease Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy 2Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
[zivadinov10b]Zivadinov R, Lopez-Soriano A, Weinstock-Guttman B, Schirda CV, Magnano CR, Dolic K, Kennedy CL, Brooks CL, Reuther JA, Hunt K, Andrews M, Dwyer MG, and Hojnacki DW: Use of MR Venography for Characterization of the Extracranial Venous System in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Control Subjects.Radiology. 2010 Dec:.PMID 21177394, doi:10.1148/radiol.10101387.
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, State University of New York, 100 High St., Buffalo, NY 14203.
A question recently asked; “What is the possible complication if you restenosed”? Now I trust this is an open source document as it is posted on several sites, and if it is not then I do apologies in advance. The answer was supplied by Dr Simka from Poland. I am just highlighting the points raised and will quote the relevant sections.
The International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET) educational meeting is presented annually in South Florida, the current ISET 2011 has over 1000 attendees (mostly MD's) from around the world.
For the first time CCSVI matter will be discussed during endovascular CME (stands for Continuous Medical Education) course.
[reekers11a]Reekers JA, Lee MJ, Belli AM, and Barkhof F: Cardiovascular and interventional radiological society of europe commentary on the treatment of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency.Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2011 Feb;34(1):1-2. Epub 2010 Dec 7.PMID 21136256, doi:10.1007/s00270-010-0050-5.
Department of Radiology, AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
[vedantham10a]Vedantham S, Benenati JF, Kundu S, Black CM, Murphy KJ, Cardella JF,: Interventional endovascular management of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in patients with multiple sclerosis: a position statement by the Society of Interventional Radiology, endorsed by the Canadian Interventional Radiology Association.J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2010 Sep;21(9):1335-7.PMID 20800776, doi:10.1016/j.jvir.2010.07.004. PDF.
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, 510 S. Kingshighway Blvd., Box 8131, St. Louis, MO 63110-1076, USA.
Well written personal story from Dr. Bill Code (Canada) who was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago and who recently underwent treatment for CCSVI performed by Dr. Arata (California)
Dr. Bill Code: "In short, I believe CCSVI is the “real deal” and is a part of the critical puzzle for the signs and symptoms of MS."
