This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

If it's in use for arteries, couldn't it be used off-label for veins? Or is the artery one on the market yet? It sounds very promising.

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"However, the truth in science ultimately emerges, although sometimes it takes a very long time," Arthur Silverstein, Autoimmunity: A History of the Early Struggle for Recognition

Does anyone know what stents are used in the USA? Are hey made of metal? Do they have a name? I'm concerned that I will need one since I have A valve in my left IJV that is stuck partially closed. I don't know how this can be fixed.

Thanks for your help,
Synthia

Most stents are made of surgical stainless steel mesh....

Abbbott Labs has a stent that is bio-absorbable that is entering phase two trials, but it is a while before it will be released in to general use
(and I believe) it designed for arteries

Here is a link to an article about a dissolvable stent, which is being developed by Abbott Labs, but which is not generally available yet.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 409622.htm

I had the Liberation procedure on August 17, 2010. That is not quite a month ago. I already knew I had stenosis very high in my right IJV from my scans at BNAC. A neuroradiologist in my hometown reviewed the MRV with me and told me that the stenosis would require a stent, but he wouldn't do the procedure because there was no proof it would help me.

So when I was scheduled for my procedure I knew I had a choice. The IR (what a great guy) would use stents if the patients want them and I knew I wanted them. Why pay for ballooning that would not work ? So I have 2 stents in both IJVs very high up. I've had no problems with the stents at all. The good doctor gave me stents that flare a bit to better accommodate the natural shape of my IJVs.

But if I hadn't known ahead of time that I needed stents I would probably have chosen ballooning only. But I do not regret the stents at all.

ozarkcanoer

I'm glad that you have no regrets, ozark, and I hope for dramatic improvements for you. I think that it is important to be prepared for any eventuality when going into the operating theatre - as you seem to have been.

Dr. Simka (Poland) said that I was going to need a stent in L IJV when he did the Doppler, but when they got in there, the vein stayed open after two balloons, so no stent. (I was relieved). That was the second time I was told (from imaging) that I would need a stent. The point being; it's how the veins respond to the balloons that determine the need for a stent, or not. "Gold Standard" and all that...

Mind you, that vein has since closed up again, so a stent might have been a better bet. I was prepared to take one last time, but this time, "Nie stenty, dzienkuje" (no stent, thank you).

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My name is not really Johnson. MSed up since 1993

I received a stent 3 weeks ago-2nd trip to Poland, and to date don't regret it one bit, and wished I'd had the choice originally...i've done the best I can for me right now...let the healing begin...i feel great so far!mabye blind faith just works...
johmson, I'm shocked...a no seals your fate, till who knows when...

Neither do I. Sometimes though, I feel like I have to apologize for them or something.

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RRMS Dx'd 2007, first episode 2004. Bilateral stent placement, 3 on left, 1 stent on right, at Stanford August 2009. Watch my operation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwc6QlLVtko, Virtually symptom free since, no relap

There was an article on this in a business magazine I read yesterday. It said that outside of the US these dissolvable stents might be in use in 18 months, but in the US, it will take longer as they'll need long-term trials. Not sure how long-term those long-term trials would be? Maybe just a couple years? It sure sounds like the way I'd want to go, if they can have a dissolvable stent on the market in the next five years.

Yeah, we'll see how confident I am when the time comes... Hopefully, the docs say "nie stenty" again. I would have had one if recommended (and I'd probably still be feeling great, instead of how I do feel)

My reluctance is not based in science, but in more abstract areas. I don't always make the best choices, but I always have to live with them. I hope that my own trepidations do not unduly influence anyone else in their decision. It is between the doctor and the patient and involves informed consent. Personally, I have a phobia about dental implants and other metals in my body. That's just me.

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My name is not really Johnson. MSed up since 1993

jphnson, a phobia, i hope isn't toooooooooo serious. i have a metal plate and screws in my arm, and i had to rub it every day for weeks...oh, I still get the hebejeebe's. same with the stent, but, just ignoring it, and its working so far. Please don't hesitate if the time comes, its soo fabulous to feel good...