by drsclafani » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:00 pm
well, we now have pathology in common. We both have vascular malformations.
Mine was an arterial malformation of the arteries of the gastrointestinal tract called a Dieulafloy lesion; and your are venous malformations of the cerebrospinal system.
Mine causes acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage and acute anemia. boy, do i miss the oxygen carrying capacity of the red blood cells i hemorrhaged.
I had lost quite a bit of blood by the time I was admitted.
A Dieulafoy lesion is a malformation of an artery of the stomach that does not branch or "arborize" and get smaller as it moves toward its final location. With time, the stomach's lining cells thin until the artery is directly exposed to the gastric digestive fluids and erodes. The high pressure arterial flow then pulses directly into the stomach cavity. This is a rare problem accounting for less than 2% of all causes of gastric bleeding.
I was really efficiently cared for. I was through the ER and into the intermediate care ICU within 90 minutes. After stabilization by fluids and blood transfusion, i was taken to the endoscopy suite where a Dieulafoy lesion was found in my stomach and treated within eight hours of admission by cautery of the bleeding vessel. Once found a Dieulafoy lesion has about 95% permanent cure. I wish MS were like that.
I was discharged the next day. I am ok, but really tired because of severe anemia. I have a lot of blood to make in my body to get back to normal. Unfortunately, my doctor advised not to travel because rebleeding while in the airplane could be fatal.I thought about following many of your lead and not follow my doctors' instructions but i feel really tired now and won't travel. So disappoiinting not to present all my lectures at SIR. It was to be a crowning moment of my career.
I want to thank you all for your wishes. it meant a lot to me.
any questions?
Salvatore JA Sclafani MD
Patient contact: ccsviliberation@gmail.com