By What are the symptoms of MALS?
Signs and symptoms of MALS include:
- Pain in the upper middle stomach area, which may go away when leaning forward.
- Stomach pain after eating, exercising or shifting body position.
- Fear of eating food due to pain, leading to significant weight loss — usually greater than 20 pounds (9.1 kilograms)
- Bloating.
How do you get diagnosed with MALS?
There’s no specific test to diagnose MALS . Your doctor will carefully examine you and ask questions about your symptoms and health history. The physical exam is often normal in people with MALS . Bloodwork and imaging tests help your doctor rule out other causes of stomach pain.
Can MALS go away?
MALS is a chronic condition, so it won’t go away on its own. MALS is treated by cutting the median arcuate ligament so that it can’t compress the celiac artery and surrounding nerves anymore.
What is Dunbar syndrome?
Dunbar Syndrome, also known as median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), is a rare condition with a reported incidence of 2 per 100,000. It is characterized by an extrinsic compression of the celiac trunk, and should be considered when evaluating patients with abdominal pain of unknown etiology.
How risky is MALS surgery?
Infection. Complications of general anesthesia including malignant hyperthermia, difficulty breathing or even death. Some patients reported diarrhea, nausea, and self-limiting pancreatitis following surgery.
Can MALS cause pots?
We have observed a strong association of MALS in patients with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
What kind of doctor can diagnose MALS?
There are numerous types of surgeons that treat MALS. This may be a Vascular Surgeon, General Surgeon, Bariatric Surgeon, Cardiothoracic surgeon, Gastrointestinal Surgeon, Oncology Surgeon, etc.
What kind of doctor do you see for MALS?
Is MALS common with EDS?
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS): Our study found that the prevalence of EDS in patients with MALS could be much higher, reported at 31.7% (Figure 2), with hypermobile EDS (hEDS) as the most prevalent type of EDS at 77% (Figure 4).
Do you need a feeding tube for MALS?
Eating: Find what works for you. This may not be much. For some, we need feeding tubes and for others it is an all liquid diet monitored by doctors.