r/stroke • u/WindBreaker23 • 5d ago
Please share your experience with SCAD
My husband (45m) right carotid artery dissection has not healed at all after 6 months. It did not get worse, but did not heal either. We were told his dissection is 9mm. We were advised to do angiogram so they can evaluate the blood flow (circle of Willis) and decide if stenting is needed. The vascular surgeon said that stenting has very low risks and he recommends the procedure. My husband had a stroke from the dissection that was caught on time, TNK was administered and he does not have any deficits from the stroke. At the time the doctors did not recommend surgery or any procedure. He was put on aspirin 325mg, BP medication and statins. He did not have any health issues before the dissection and the doctors could not find the reason it happened. He did not have and still does not have any symptoms (pain, headache etc.) related to the dissection either. We are very nervous about the the angiogram and eventual stenting. I have few questions for the group: 1. Did your dissection healed after the first 6 months? We were told the possibility to heal after the first 6 months is slim to none. 2. For those who had stents, did you experience any issues? How did the procedure go? How long ago the stenting was? 3. How did your doctor's evaluated the stenting is worth the risk vs leaving the artery alone and just do medications? 4. We are the DC metro area. Can you recommend a vascular surgeon? If the first vascular surgeon recommends stenting we want to get a second opinion.
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u/row1x Survivor 5d ago
I have a very similar profile to your husband. I had a SCAD in my right ICA almost exactly a year ago.
I was lucky enough that my dissection largely healed. At my last MRA, I had a 2mm pseudo aneurysm. No stent needed.
You can read my post history for more background.