Jenny,

I can't speak on the timeline for anyone who has had the indirect bypass, but I might be able to explain how the surgery prevents further strokes a little better.

"Stroke" is the effect of the lack of oxygen (blood flow) to an area of the brain.  By placing a good artery from the scalp on the surface of the brain on the side of the brain that is lacking blood flow, it allows a new supply of arteries to develop (over time) to carry more oxygen to the deprived area of the brain, preventing future stroke.

Does that make it any easier to understand?

DJ

Hi Jenny,

I am not sure if it could be of any help though, my son, Kota, had MM surgeries on both sides of his head last November.  He was 9 years old at that time.  The surgery was done on his right side first, because it looked worse than left.  But his right side ended up indirect, because the recipient blood vessel was not thick and robust enough.  His left side was direct by-pass artery.  He has been recovering very well since then.  After three months, he had a set of exams, MRs/angiogram/SPECT.  The results were very encouraging, though his right side had a little less blood flow.  Anyway, fortunately he has not had any seizures since last December.  So at least it seems that indirect surgery is working as well as direct one here.

Best wishes and good luck

Cotadad

Its Wednesday now...so I guess little Daphne had her surgery...hope all went well.
My Cara had both the direct (STA-MCA) and indirect (EMS) surgeries done on both sides.  Dr. Meyers felt he would try the direct as she was 100% occuluded on the right side and also knew her artery would be very small ...1mm wide...it was like toilet paper tissue thin and very, very fragile but they continued on doing the bypass (July 14, 2004) and then do the indirect should the bypass fail (they kept checking with the doppler, listening for blood flow through the bypass every few hours)....and when it was time for the surgery on her second side(August 23, 2004) (5 weeks later)....he said he was going to do the same thing and guess that the left side was in a better shape than the right but it was equally as fragile.  When they saw her for the second surgery they checked the right side and said it was still flowing.  She has gone through so much since then....too many seizures/TIA ....anti seizure medication controlled all that for three months but those little TIA's have returned ...about one or two a day...however those are part of the "healing" process...all patients differ.  The more I look at it ..it is so very small that one may not know it's happening.   I did read one of Dr. Stienbergs medical essays...he did mention that those who had "both" direct and indirect done on one side have a greater risk of seizures.   But anyway  Dr. Meyers said as Cara grows..that 1mm artery will grow wider, get stronger and bring in more blood flow...and when brain gets additional flow in an area that hasn't gotten any...a little seizure would spark....so when I see a "spark" in Cara...I pray it is a new "flow"..however tiny it is.  She HAS come a long way.

And as for long term results...I guess we all have to stay in touch, share facts...as its only been six months for Cara...and the indirect takes at least six months to a year for some growth to two years to reach its potential growth.

Together we will see how our love ones do....and like we believe...they will succeed.  hugs,  CarasMOM