Session #10 - Absolute Ethanol Embolization Treatment for Vascular (Venous) Malformation

 This 10th session was on 17 of January 2024. It was technically the 10th and 11th sessions since the doctor decided to perform an additional session the next day. 

It was decided in my last session that we'll focus on the base of the thumb and hand and the wrist this time. 

But since the previous session focused near the elbow the doctor also made sure to check if there is blood flow in the spots where the ethanol was injected in the previous session. He confirmed that it seemed to not have any blood flow, meaning that those malformations are blocked.

Details:-

1. On the 17th, the total ethanol injected was 17.5mL. Most of it was the middle of the forearm and the wrist. Some of it was at the base of the thumb. At the end of the session the doctor said we can have another session the next day since my insurance cover was expiring soon and I won't be able to have any more sessions for a while.
2. On the 18th, the total ethanol injected was 11mL. It was in the middle of the hand and base of the thumb and wrist. He checked to see if there was any more blood flow in the malformations in the areas where ethanol was injected in the past 2 sessions. Once it was confirmed that there was none, he focused mostly on the base of my thumb and wrist. After the final portion of 11mL was injected in the base of my thumb I had a sharp burning sensation on my wrist running up to my elbow. I mentioned this to the doctor and he immediately stopped the session mentioning that the ethanol probably touched a nerve. 
3. The doctor did mention that the area in the wrist and hand are very challenging because of how there are a lot of nerves and the malformations are all tiny, so there could be accidental puncture of the walls of the vessels which can lead to the ethanol leaking out into the normal veins, tissue and nerves.

After the session I asked the doctor if this could lead to any permanent damage and he mentioned that any impact would only be temporary and could lead to a temporary loss of sensation or loss of power in my hand. He mentioned that permanent damage can only happen with repeated and excessive injection of ethanol into the normal veins. 

As I'm writing this it's the 2nd of February and my hand has nearly recovered fully except for some numbness in my fingers but I'm able to do everything normally. I do still have pain in my wrist. This is something that developed after the 7th session after which I had started working out with calisthenics intensively. It was great for a while but after some time I started feeling pain in the inner portion of my wrist. It's not severe and it gets worse when I push against it or if I lift heavy weights or apply stress on my arm in some other way. That pain still persists even after the three sessions that followed. 

The sad part is that after I got laid off in December, my health insurance is no longer active and the waiting period for this particular condition is 4 years in the new policy that I took out. I doubt if I'll be able to wait 4 years before I can have further sessions. I must find a way to get additional treatment sooner. 

I hope I can find a way to get rid of the malformations completely soon!