So happy you have had such good results with your TOS surgeries! But I do think it is important for people to understand that both the need and the outcome for surgery is very different for those of us with Neurogenic TOS than it is if we have Vascular TOS (as you do).

VTOS responds MUCH better to surgery than NTOS. In fact, only a very small percentage of NTOS'ers are good candidates for surgery in the first place, no matter how bad the symptoms have become.

When a surgeon tells you s/he has a "success rate" of say, 70%, maybe we should be asking whether that represents VTOS and NTOS surgical results COMBINED (which would bring those stats way up). If so, then the % can be very misleading. NTOS is notoriously resistant to treatment, and this especially includes surgical treatment. So many poor outcomes!

Like the lady in SF says, TOS surgery can make you waaaay worse in the long run. Even if the pain and disability are so bad you think it cannot get any worse! It should ultimately be the surgeon's decision - not ours - as to whether surgery is even indicated (it almost always is with VTOS, and almost always is NOT with NTOS), regardless of the amount of muscle spasm, nerve damage, etc. we might have.

You will end up with a lot more scar tissue, regardless, along with all of the problems that that entails, if surgery is undertaken. I for one wish I had not rushed quite so fast to Denver once I finally received my dx of "True" Neurogenic TOS - which happens to be in that 1% category of NTOS where surgery is one of the only options.

Sorry this post is so long. Wish you the best in your recovery!