My esophagus hurt as well, which is between the shoulder blades and under sternum.
What part of SD? Can you travel to Mayo? Dr Costopolis was my vascular doctor and he referred me to Drs DeMartino and Kendrick. Kendrick did the surgery and knew enough about MALs to also remove part of the celiac ganglion in addition to just cutting the ligament. Dr Hsu from Conneticut is the most noted, renowned, loved surgeon in the country for treating MALs. Probably in the world. You can get his information and how to contact him from Facebook MALs Awareness group. Hope this helps. I’m sorry for your pain and dismissal. I experienced that 3 times and it is still very hurtful. Most MALs pts have had that experience.