Treating MTS with Interventional Radiology
The procedures that Advantage IR doctors use to treat May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS) are part of a medical specialty called Interventional Radiology (IR). Interventional radiologists are doctors who are specially trained to do minimally invasive vascular procedures, such as angioplasty, to treat a variety of conditions.
In the case of MTS, any existing blood clot in the left leg is treated using catheter-directed thrombolysis, where a catheter (thin tube) is used to guide special medication to the site of a blood clot to dissolve the blockage.
To prevent future clots, angioplasty and stenting is performed. During this procedure, imaging guidance is used to direct a balloon catheter, and then a stent (small mesh tube) to the left iliac vein. The balloon is inflated to open the vein, and then deflated and taken out, leaving the stent in place to keep the vein open.