A handful of Canadians with multiple sclerosis have had an experimental surgical procedure under the radar in this country, despite lack of proof of its safety or effectiveness.

The surgery is based on the theory that blocked veins in the neck and chest contribute in some way to symptoms of MS. It's thought that opening up the veins using balloon angioplasty improves the condition.

The procedure is officially not available in Canada. But Bill Harrison said he had the surgery in Victoria just over three weeks ago, paid for by B.C.'s health plan. MS patient Bill Harrison, shown with wife, Candice, says the surgery got rid of the 'fog' in his mind. (CBC)

Harrison, who has now moved to Toronto, was about to spend to $19,000 to travel to India for the surgery when he had the procedure at Victoria General Hospital. Dr. Mark Godley of False Creek Healthcare Centre in Vancouver arranged Harrison's surgery as a routine vascular procedure to fix a circulation problem.

"The treatment was performed based on the fact that there was a disorder, a vascular disorder, and there was not the label of the association with MS," Godley said.

Harrison said he couldn't have waited any longer because he was days away from being bed-ridden.

"I do not understand what the obstacles are," Harrison said, sitting on a park bench in Toronto. "What I hear is, 'It takes time, it has to be tested.' I've already tested it. It works. I got my life back, yes!"

Harrison transferred himself from a motorized scooter to a bench lacking back support, something he said he couldn't have done before the surgery. He said his mind is now clear and "the fog is gone."

Procedure no longer offered

A second MS patient also had the procedure in Victoria before word leaked out and the hospital shut the service down for MS patients.

Dr. Mark Godley arranged Bill Harrison's surgery as a routine vascular procedure to fix a circulation problem. (CBC)

"So it's hard to know what exactly went on, but we're no longer doing the procedure unless we become part of an investigational group," said Dr. Brian Weinerman, executive director for diagnostics at the Vancouver Island Health Authority in Victoria.

"Once the idea that the patients were getting treated for an indication for the symptoms of MS, the authorities didn't feel that this was in their best interest," Godley said.

At Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ont., five patients had the procedure done before the surgeon voluntarily stopped.

Although angioplasty is often done on veins to treat other conditions, medical officials say research is needed to determine if it works as a treatment for MS.

Heidi Oetter of the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons said experimental therapy should only be done as part of a rigorously vetted trial approved by a research ethics board.

Canadian health officials say the surgery won't be available until clinical trials have been done, noting medical history is full of treatments that looked hopeful but didn't pan out. Preliminary studies to test the theory are getting underway.

Other Canadian MS patients are travelling overseas for the procedure.