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Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)
Digestive Health | Last Active: Oct 29 2:54pm | Replies (1225)Comment receiving replies
You mention that some people have compression without the symptoms. When I spoke to the vascular surgeon he also mentioned this even going as far as quoting something like if he went out on the street and scanned people 1 in every 100 people will have MALs but show no symptoms. I'm guessing a study has not been done as the cost of scanning a large body of people would be prohibitive, how then do they know there are people with MALs that show no symptoms. They are dismissing MALs as the reason for the pain based on this fact so an explanation of how they draw this conclusion would be much appreciated.
Mark
Replies to "Hi @kanaazpereira You mention that some people have compression without the symptoms. When I spoke to..."
Yes, there was a study published in a journal. The researcher studied the celiac artery in many cadavers and concluded that something like 35% had MALs anatomy. Of course there are many limitations with that study such as all participants being deceased. But researchers assert that only 1% of that 35% have Sxs. Research is valuable but can’t prove anything, so we take those stats with a grain of salt.
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@ukmalsman
I was also told that some people have the syndrome, but no symptoms. This has been found coincidentally when undergoing surgery for something totally unrelated as well as postmortem. Diagnosis can be suspected with an abnormal Doppler ultrasound of the abdomen, showing reduction in flow rate. This can then be confirmed with a CT angio. Unfortunately, my GI doctor did not know how to follow up on my abnormal ultrasound and dismissed it as a false positive. During surgery the celiac nerve plexus may be removed to decrease persistent pain. It does not always work- the nervous system is not easy to understand- there may be a “memory” of pain.