Sorry for the delay since my last post, but I've been a bit under the weather. Nothing serious, but as my fellow MSers know, just a touch of fever can really set MS symptoms afire. It's that whole heat sensitivity

thing…

I'll be working on a new post in the next several days, but rather than leave everyone hanging, I thought I'd post this interview with the Interventional Radiologist who did my attempted CCSVI

treatment, Dr. Salvatore Sclafani.

A quick recap for those who've discovered Wheelchair Kamikaze since my try at liberation: I underwent a catheter venogram procedure last March, which revealed that I

do have a blockage in my right internal jugular vein, but, as with

everything else about my disease, it's pretty strange. Unlike most other

patients found to have the venous blockages associated with CCSVI,

whose abnormalities occur inside of their veins, in the form of

stenosis, valve malformation, or anomalous membranes, my blockage is

caused by a muscle bundle outside of the vein pressing in on it, forcing

it significantly closed. This blockage can't be addressed in the usual

ways, with balloon venoplasty or with a stent, so further options are

being explored.

I currently have tentative plans to undergo a second procedure with Dr. Sclafani sometime early in the New Year, to recheck my entire CNS venous system, as well as take another look at the

blockage in my right internal jugular. Dr. Sclafani has learned much

since I underwent my procedure nine months ago, as knowledge of CCSVI

and how to treat it is evolving exponentially, almost by the day. This

is why I've recommended in previous posts that those with milder symptom

profiles and less aggressive disease should probably hold tight and

wait 6 to 12 months before pursuing CCSVI treatment, since the

procedures being done now are much more sophisticated than those done

just a few months ago, and those done several months from now will be

all the more refined. We'll also be discovering much more about the

prevalence and impact of CCSVI in the coming months, as several trials

start reporting initial results.

Unfortunately, my disease continues to progress rapidly, and I believe left unimpeded it will have me bedridden within the next 12 months, so I simply don't have the time

to wait. Any port in a storm, as they say…

And so, without further ado, here's Dr. Sclafani, with a comprehensive assessment of the current state of CCSVI research and treatment, including an explanation

of what CCSVI is, the methods used to treat it, the uncertainties

surrounding the hypothesis, reasons for optimism, and the need for

healthy skepticism and realistic expectations. BTW, I did not shoot this

video…

see the video at    http://www.wheelchairkamikaze.com/2010/12/video-interview-with-my-ccsvi-doctor.html