Thansk, Jo

So moving on then....

Saw Dr Ahn First...except that I didn't really see him, I saw his junior associate Dr Reil. Since my primary Neuro is Dr. Jordan and they all work together frequently, basically I was told on the first visit that they would want an SSEP to rule out Carpal Tunnel and Ulnar Tunnel, a left scalene block to confirm the dx on the left side (i wasn't too jazzed about this bc they wanted to do it with no anestesia...) but that basically, sure they'd be happy to remove my rib transaxiallarily (sp?), and they removed all but 4" of the middle and anterior scalene muscles in that operation. I was also told 25% of those patients have to come back a year later for complete removal of those scalenes with is done supraclavicularly.

I was not really in the mood for 25% chance of second surgery.

They also made recovery sound like a breeze...oh yeah
i'd be up and around and happy in a week,
no lifting restrictions,
could drive as soon as i wasn't on narcotics anymore (2weeks?),
insurance wouldn't pay for a second night in the hospital so i only got one but I wouldn't care, i'd be ready and happy to go home...
and finally, they could do the second side 4-6 weeks after the initial procedure but I'd feel "pretty beat up"

At the time is sounded so easy...sign me up, right? Ahn is a good surgeon, surely it will be fine.

Well, in talking with my neuro later he said maybe to expect more like 6 weeks to three months recovery (what surgeon who wants you to feel comfy is going to tell you that straight up?) and suggested that all surgeons have better memories for their easy patients and that they tend to refer the hard ones to someone else so they aren't sitting around the waiting room complaining about how miserable they are


I got the SSEP, not too painful, came back normal. Put off the left scalene block as long as possible hoping to talk them out of it. I was eventually successful in that when I met Dr Ahn directly, but I'll tell how and why later...

As a side note, Dr. Ahn's office runs very efficiently. Michael, the guy at the front desk, is super friendly and always knows who I am when I walk in the door. He has gotten anything I needed super fast and always with a smile. My appointments were always pretty much on time as well.