Is their a doctor in the room?

New, Experimental, groundbreaking, controversial, and "yet to be independently replicated"(my favorite). All used to describe the "Liberation Procedure", "The Zamboni Procedure", or whatever else the media wants to call it.


But is it really any of these things?


The first angioplasty was performed in 1977, 33 years ago. The procedure was as easy back then as it is today. When performed on arteries there is a less than 1% rate of complications resulting in death. This procedure is performed daily because it is less invasive then bypass surgery.


That is all well and good you say, but this new experimental groundbreaking and controversial procedure is not performed on veins. Veins are not ridged like arteries, we have know idea how this procedure will affect a vein. We need research and lots of it. We need private research, public research, we need double blind research groups, we need to test it on mice first, and my favorite we need to independently replicate it to know it is safe to perform.


But again, is any of this really true?


Have MS patients handcuffed themselves by calling this common treatment "The Liberation Procedure"? Are doctor's so egotistical, and blinded by progress that they won't come forward and speak up.


By now you must have figured out I'm going somewhere with this, and I am. Angioplasty is also very commonly performed on veins and has been done for years. People that suffer from kidney disease need angioplasty done because of complication with there dialysis. I'm not a doctor but it sounds like the dialysis opening or exit of the vein can get blocked, as well the vein can get over worked and collapses. Doctors go in and balloon that sucker open, sometimes even stenting them to keep the vein open to allow for easy dialysis.


So there is one specific use for angioplasty when it comes to veins and is completely different to CCSVI.


Oh wait, I'm sorry. Doctors are performing angioplasty on portal veins that have stenosis after liver transplants. And pulmonary vein angioplasty which is way over my head but still, vein being angioplasty'd sounds good to me.


Anyway, type vein and angioplasty into Google and you'll see that CCSVI has some brothers in arms and anyone without an MD attached to the back of there name would understand that this is the opposite of New, Experimental, and Groundbreaking.