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Payment Information:
We accept payment in cash or with Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card. We do have the option for bank transfers, but we recommend using credit/debit card payment. Also before you charge your card, we recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company in advance to inform them of the anticipated payment as often they may block international payments if they haven’t been pre-informed.
The medical service cost for the in-patient diagnostic procedures will be approximately 3,000 Euro. If we confirm stenosis during the invasive phlebography, we will offer your endovascular balloon dilatation treatment for an additional 2, 000 Euro for a total cost of approximately 5000 Euro.
In regards to stenting, the base price for examination and treatment is 5,000 Euro, but the stents are charged separately, the cost per stent is approximately 650 Euro. Stenting offers a more permanent solution versus a balloon dilation procedure, however anti-coagulating therapy is required after stenting for 6 months to one year in duration.
The above prices include the needed tests, the medical procedures, the hospital room, three meals per day, and other standard services.
In Bulgaria, the first CCSVI examinations were performed in two specialized hospitals using Color Echo Doppler and Computer Tomography (CT) phlebography, which confirmed the prevalence of the venous pathology amongst MS patients. We developed specialized protocols to diagnose and assess CCSVI, which includes 3 basic procedures: Color Echo Doppler testing (a non-invasive examination), MRI phlebography (a non-invasive examinations), and direct invasive venous angiography. Upon establishing and locating venous stenosis or blockages causing CCSVI, we offer endovascular treatments including balloon dilatation and stenting.
Our entire examination and treatment process requires hospital admittance for 3 to 4 days. In fact, our examination and treatment protocols were designed to be minimally invasive, with a quick recovery period and complications are not to be expected. So far, we have examined and assessed over 100 patients from Bulgaria, North America and Europe, the majority of which had significant CCSVI. We treated the CCSVI cases with balloon dilation angioplasty and/or endovascular venous stent implantation, the clinical outcomes among this patient group have been very positive and the patient case data and results are being collected for analysis and scientific research. Collectively, our physician teams annually diagnose and apply contemporary medical practices to treat thousands of patients with a wide range of cardiovascular and endovascular diseases therefore we have the proper expertise and practical experience to offer quality and comprehensive CCSVI diagnosis and treatment services.
We formed a collaborative working group of medical specialists including phlebologists (specialists in venous and ultrasound diagnostics), neurologists, medical diagnostic imaging specialists CT MRI, and endovascular therapy specialists. The collaborative team works together to provide venous diagnostics for MS patients and upon discovery of CCSVI pathologies to provide the necessary treatment, namely dilatation of the blocked veins.
Our CCSVI team consists of the following members:
Leading Phlebology Specialist and Ultrasound Specialist
Professor L. Grozdinski, MD, PhD
Angiology Sector Chief - Tokuda Hospital Sofia
President of the Bulgarian Phlebology Association
Cardiology and Endovascular Treatment Specialist
Associate Professor Ivo Petrov, MD
Cardiology Department Chief - Tokuda Hospital Sofia
President of the Bulgarian Association of Endovascular Therapy
Medical Diagnostic Imaging and CT MRI specialist
Associate Professor G. Kirova
MD
Medical Diagnostic Imaging Department Chief - Tokuda Hospital Sofia
Neurology Specialist
Associate Professor Staikov, MD
Neurology Department Chief - Tokuda Hospital Sofia
- Echo-Doppler of the venous system pre and post procedure.
- Comprehensive blood tests, electrocardiography, echocardiography, and specialist consultations with a phlebologist, a cardiologist and a neurologist
- MRI phlebography of the veins.
- Invasive phlebography of vena cava, vena jugularis and vena azygos.
- Endovascular balloon dilation and stenting according to medical indications.
MS is a progressive inflammation disease affecting the central nervous system in which the myelin sheaths covering the axons of the brain are damaged and the transmission of nerve signals is blocked, which leads to eventual paralysis and vision loss. Until recently MS was widely considered an autoimmune system disease with possible viral causes, which has hereditary predisposition factors. However, the core cause of the disease has remained undetermined, which had lead to serious difficulties in preventing, treating, and managing the disease.
During 2008 – 2009, the renowned Italian Doctor Paolo Zamboni published a theory purporting that MS is caused by chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). He established that approximately 90% of MS patients have severe blockages in the venous drainage of the brain, which leads to damage to the venous endothelium followed by infiltration and accumulation of toxic substances (iron) in the brain tissues. Dr. Zamboni proposed that this process is the key cause of the chronic inflammation of the sheathing around the brain nerves. Dr. Zamboni extended his research amongst a group of 65 MS patients; he inflated a small balloon in the veins to clear out blockages in the brain draining veins, which resulted in a considerable improvement in the status of most of the patients. In response to the positive clinical outcomes, several centers in Europe have started to provide venous diagnostics and treatment for MS patients.
The driving presumption of this treatment is by eliminating the cause of MS, namely the cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, a disease improvement will occur and the progressive disease development will cease. This treatment should be undertaken complementary to anti-inflammation therapy administered by neurologists, because currently the role of the venous abnormality disturbances in the ethopathogenesis of MS is not clear: CCSVI may be the basic cause, a triggering mechanism or a concomitant process.
Cardiology Department, Tokuda Hospital SofiaGiving medical innovations a human touch
Call Center: +3592/403 4000 |
CCSVI Diagnostics and Treatment Center
Angiology and Phlebology Sector
Our Angiology and Phlebology Sector established Tokuda Hospital Sofia's CCSVI center to focus on diagnosing and treating chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), based upon the recently discovered connection with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We implement both leading methodologies in contemporary phlebology (veins science) and endovascular innovations to effectively diagnose and treat CCSVI, which has great potential to improve the quality of life of MS patients.