This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I am curious as to why the only proposed therapies have been angioplasty or stenting. If angioplasty often ends up in restenosis and stents are risky, why not use the same kind of bypass surgery done on arteries - take a vein from the leg and transplant it in the neck to bypass the narrow/twisted/obstructed one.

Of course there may be excellent reasons why this has not been proposed; I'm just wondering what they are. Is there some reason bypass surgery wouldn't work in the CCSVI context? (Not that bypass surgery isn't risky, too.)

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actually, Rici is having this done in Poland
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopic-10449-15.html
Dr. Zamboni mentioned during the Bologna conference that vein replacement might be a potential therapy to deal with some cases CCSVI.
cheer

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Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

Hi I was talking to my father who is a retired ent surgeon and he said that he grafted veins many times and in fact it was one of the first things he suggested with ccsvi. Of course it is more invasive to cut open neck. Barbara

I am delighted to see how sharp the mind of some members is. The question regarding bypass surgery in CCSVI is pertinent but premature. I am sure that it will become a form of treatment as soon as CCSVI is proven to be the cause (or an important co-factor) of MS. Unfortunately not at present when we are struggling to make a simple and virtually risk-free procedure (angioplasty) acceptable to the neurologists.
GiCi

my thinking is that I'm getting balloon angioplasty to "buy me time". The solution is not the best, and often not permanent, but it is likely to lower the risk of MS relapse (as much as the approved drugs do...but without all the side effects). I'm sure vein transplants and other options will be available in years to come...but I needed treatment now.

hwebb