A bit late...
Dr. Sclafani and his
excellent team at AAC have my family's and my eternal gratitude.
3/3/11 - US testing
3/4/11 - venogram/venoplasty
Dr. S exclaimed during my procedure, "Fantastic!" Here is his explanation of his exclamation:
drsclafani wrote:I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE VEIN IS NOT STRICTURED. MALFORMATION OF THE VALVE LEADS TO A FUNNEL INSIDE THE VEIN THAT NARROWS. THEREFORE YOU DO NOT NEED TO INFLATE AS MUCH AS THOUGHT BUT CERTAINLY MORE THAN WE USED TO. ALSO I THINK THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF VALVE PROBLEMS.
VALVE MALFORMATION IN WHICH THE VALVE LEAFLETS ARE FUSED TO CREATE THE FUNNEL AND ANNULUS MALFORMATION WHERE THE ANNULUS OF THE VEIN IS SMALL, NARROW AND OBSTRUCTIVE. THIS IS NOT AS EASY TO TREAT, REQUIRES HIGHER PRESSURE AND PERHAPS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THROMBOSIS, NOT SURE.
When walking out of AAC's offices, I noticed something I had never seen before in my life -- all the "EXIT" sign letters were glowing. I asked the staff if the signs had been glowing when I arrived. "Yes," they said. Because I kept staring at the glowing red letters, as if mesmerized, I had to be nudged along. I will never forget those "EXIT" signs, never.
Going to Dr. Sclafani was definitely the right decision, the best decision, and one of the smartest decisions I ever made in my entire life.
Best of luck to all.