This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Dr. sclafani I'd like to ask you a couple of questions.

I had a stent put into my left IJV and there now seems to be some re-narrowing (intra-stent stenosis maybe due to intimal hyperplasia). My doctor is going to try to open the vein more again ( a different doctor to the one who did the original angioplasty for which I had to travel).
My vein had an obvious narrowing in it and when they inflated the balloon, this didn't inflate fully - looked like a couple of linked sausages (my vein was obviously obviously resistant to being opened fully). When they put the stent in, the end appears just above the narrowing and is also kinked where the narrowing is so they didn't succeed in opening my vein fully. There was however better blood flow than originally and I truly felt the difference in my symptoms. My walking was stronger, my balance was better and my head was much clearer. Needless to say I have now lost some of my gains.

The doctor doing my procedure this time has asked me what type of balloon they used first time round. I was told they used 6 bar or 12 bar pressure for inflating the balloon during my 1st procedure (is this conventional or high pressure??) He says he has no high-pressure balloons available and is going to try with a conventional balloon.

I'm sure my IR knows exactly what he's doing but this information is to help me understand more about the whole process and to perhaps find a solution for my own vein problem. I want to be realistic about my expectations of this next procedure so I need to know in my own mind if he's likely to succeed any better than the first doctor if he uses the same balloon type & pressure, and if he uses this, whether it's even worth trying.

1. If he used a high-pressure balloon, would this be more likely to open my vein fully or could this rupture the vein?
2. What is the difference between high-pressure and conventional balloons in terms of the pressure used to inflate them (bars or atm - e.g. up to how many bar is a conventional balloon pressure, then a high-pressure, then ultra-high).


I appreciate your help with this. Thank you,
Pauline