First and foremost, I'd like to thank everybody who sent get well wishes via the the blog and e-mail during my recent illness. They were all deeply appreciated, and helped keep my spirits up when the going got tough. Since I want to report today on some timely CCSVI news, I'll report fully on my getting sick and subsequent hospital stay later in the week, but for now, suffice it to say that Multiple Sclerosis sucks. Big time.
A symposium on the "vascular theory of MS" (these days known far and wide as CCSVI) was held Monday 7/26 at SUNY Downstate Hospital in Brooklyn. Organized by Dr. Sal Sclafani, who did my attempted liberation procedure back in March, the symposium was attended by many of the heavy hitters in the world of CCSVI, including Dr. Tariq Sinan of Kuwait, Dr. Ivo Petrov of Bulgaria, Dr. Gary Siskin of Albany, New York, Dr. Fabrizio Salvi of Italy, Dr. David Hubbard of San Diego, California, Dr. Mark Haacke of Detroit, Michigan, and, of course, Dr. Sclafani himself.
Because of my recent health issues, my stamina is a bit low these days, so I missed the morning sessions, which dealt primarily with an overview of CCSVI and some of the imaging techniques used to identify the condition in patients non-invasively. I did attend the afternoon presentations, though, which included talks by Dr. Sinan, Dr. Petrov, and Dr. Siskin. All three physicians have been doing CCSVI procedures by the dozens, and between them account for over 400 "liberation procedures". They each related what they've learned treating patients for CCSVI, including case histories and some of the techniques they developed as their knowledge base and experience has grown.
Rather than give a blow-by-blow account of each presentation, I'll relate some of the general themes that emerged, and the pertinent "take away" points that were made by both the presenting doctors and the physicians in the audience. The one overarching theme that seemed to encompass all that was said is that we are at the very beginning of our understanding of the proper techniques and procedures used to treat the condition known as Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency. There is much more that is not known than is known, and the point was made several times that even for very experienced interventional radiologists, the treatment of CCSVI is a whole new ballgame, requiring brand new skills, techniques, and expertise. The treatment of CCSVI is definitely still a work in progress.
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1 comments:
Marc AKA Wheelchair K is one of my MS stars!
Thanks for sharing,
Joe Jendusa
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