Beverly,
I know the feeling of peace before a surgery and I'm so glad that you have found it.

That is the feeling that I had before my rib resection.

I had tried for 4 years to control everything that involved my tos and when Dr Ellis looked at me with my shirt off ( I had a sports bra on- now come on Alison I know what you are thinking!)

Dr Ellis just kept saying "Oh, God, Oh God, Oh God," when he looked at my swollen neck , prominent veins on my chest, the wasting of my hands and wrists and my swollen arms.
I thought if he is reacting this way and I know that he doesn't recommend surgery unless it is absolutely necessary I must be pretty bad.

I asked Dr Ellis for a recommendation of a vascular surgeon and he recommended Dr Annest.

By the time you get to the point that surgery is needed if you are like me I was so ready to try anything to get better.
I just surrendered myself and gave my problems to the Lord and he led me through that very difficult time.

Beverly, I think you will do great. You have done your home work from what it sounds and you've found a peace with your decision. You place your trust in a mortal man and you pray knowing that the Lord is guiding his hands, and those of the other people involved in your surgery.

There is something you need to be sure of Beverly. You must ask your vascular surgeon how MANY rib resections a year he has done. If he does not do very many of these surgeries then Beverly for the sake of your own safely and long term prognosis you must see a surgeon from our tos doctors list for a second opinion.

I see that you are in Florida. I don't know of any vascular surgeons there but I think Anne (astern is her name on the forum) came from Florida and had a tos surgery there. Hopefully she will see this thread and post her experience.

There are many people here on this forum who have had the rib resection /scalenectomy and are very passionate about their choice of surgeons.

Many people it seems travel to Denver for the 3 very prominent vascular surgeons there. Many go to University of Calif at San Francisco for their surgeries. There are a couple of very good vascular surgeons at UCLA that do many rib resections.

Hopefully others may join in just to give their opinions. There are maybe less than 10 vascular surgeons in the country from what I have read and heard who do enough of these surgeries to get fairly good results.

Beverly it would be easier if I didn't type you this long boring post. I am concerned as I'm sure everyone else on the board is about if your surgeon is qualified to do this surgery. Many docs say that they are qualified but then come surgery and the results are disasterous.

Here is the website of my surgeon Dr Annest. I am not trying to change your mind, but I do feel with a surgery this serious it is imperative that you get a second opinion.

http://www.vascularinstitute.com/index.htm

http://www.patientadvocate.org/help.php

http://www.patientadvocate.org/help.php?p=186

http://www.patientadvocate.org/report.php

http://www.patientadvocate.org/index.php?p=8

Free flights for medical treatment:

http://www.aircareall.org/

http://www.aircareall.org/listings.htm

http://www.angelflight.com/index.htm

Housing

http://www.nahhh.org/lodging3.php?city=Denver&members_state_id=6&state= Colorado

http://www.nahhh.org/images/header_bottom.gif

one of our forum members stayed here

http://www.exempla.org/care/lodging/