My journey to be treated for CCSVI the moment CTV 's W5 aired Avis Favaro's interview with Dr Zamboni in November 2009. In June 2010 I traveled to Bulgaria, had angioplasty. Got wonderful improvements for 10 days. I returned to Bulgaria 3 weeks later and they found I had restenosed but the stenosis was worse than before angioplasty. I had also developed a blood clot in my stent. The doctor removed the clot and angioplastied all 3 veins again. This time with very little improvements that again disappeared weeks later. I went to Albany New York in October 2010 and Dr Siskin tried to get into my veins but now they were blocked. Nothing he could do. He told me every time the catheter is run in the vein it does a little damage creating scarring or intimal hyperplasia. In January 2011 I went to Costa Mesa, California and Dr Arata tried, twice to get into my veins but he had the same problem as Dr Siskin. He said I had developed scarring. Nothing he could do. He said I needed a vein bypass.
I returned home and now that all 3 veins were blocked and having zero blood flow I was becoming more disabled at an alarming rate. I could see every week I was getting weaker and weaker. With every symptom worsening.
In February 2012 I found a cardiothorassic/vascular surgeon who said he could help me. On February 29 this wonderful doctor performed a Bi-lateral Jugular Vein Bypass on me. Major surgery, 5 hours. It gave me my life back. I am improving every day little by little. But for me the difference is huge. Angioplasty killed my veins. The surgeon said my veins had shriveled up, becoming fibrous strings. Completely dead.
This last experience has changed my thinking on how MS patients should be treated. I believe and so does this doctor, that angioplasty is a temporary solution to fixing this blood flow problem. Plus few people keep their improvements much longer than 18 months. And many that have had angioplasty have developed a 100% occluded vein and some have even had a jugular vein disappear. I fear if angioplasty is made available in Canada more problems will arise for the patients. BLOOD FLOW IS CRITICAL. That is for sure. But how do we treat it? Let experts in blow flow problems treat blood flow problems. Let's not waste any money on a procedure that does not last and has "THE POTENTIAL" of making patients more disabled. Let us fix the problem with one treatment. If you think I am a rare case, not so.