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Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)
Digestive Health | Last Active: 1 hour ago | Replies (1229)Comment receiving replies
Hello. I am new to Mayo Connect. Back when I had my MALS surgery there was not much known about it. I am happy to see this group. I have been trying to contact my doctor in Rochester with no luck to get some answers. It has been about ten years since my surgery and I am having symptoms again. The syndrome was new back then so I wasn't told a lot about what to expect in the future. I am wondering if my artery can recompress again? Any info would be helpful.
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Yes, unfortunately it can recompress. A number of things can happen, depending on what the surgeon did and didn't do, and your specific case. In my case, scar tissue formed around the artery, so I had the same pattern of compression on ultrasound as shown prior to surgery. When I was operated on a 2nd time, the surgeon also found a mass of neural tissue compressing the celiac trunk, which she removed, and divided the ligament an additional 2 cm apart. My first surgeon probably just didn't do enough. Overall I am doing better after this 2nd surgery but I worry constantly about it coming back with every twinge of pain.
Another issue that I have heard about is the artery can fail after years of compression, which would require a stent or bypass. Others on this forum can tell you more about that.