Quote:
Originally Posted by tos1234
Has anyone had ulnar nerve transposition surgery? I am seven months out from tos decompression surgery with Dr. Donahue but unfortunately doing worse after the surgery. I spoke with a hand surgeon (Dr. Susan McKinnon at WashU) and she said she could do an ulnar nerve transposition that could get my life back on track. The emg and nerve conduction studies at the elbow though were normal and two other hand surgeons have refused to operate. I don't want to do an unnecessary surgery but I am at the point where I have been so disabled by TOS that I can no longer work or carry my one year old son. I am considering a spinal cord stimulator because of the chronic pain. I would love to talk to anyone who has has the ulnar nerve transposition surgery to find out if it helped or not. Prior to surgery did you have abnormal nerve conduction or emg findings? Your advice and experiences are deeply appreciated!
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Hi there, mine is a long & complicated story!
I had Lt Ulnar nerve Decompression (not a transposition - where they move the nerve to the front). They just cut the muscle to make more room for nerve. I had a positive ncs/emg test in 2007 and had the surgery 6 mos later w a ortho. Hand surgeon. I seem to get slight relief in elbow but the numbness in forearm and last 2 fingers never went away. When I went back to surgeon still complaining of elbow pain she did another emg which was now normal.
What makes thing complicated is I had a herniated C5/6 disc on mri, which 3 surgeons said to have surgery and 2 said it wasn't bad enough so I had multiple Injjections & pt w no relief of neck, shoulder, upper back or arm, elbow, finger pain.n In 2011 when saw a neurologist, had new mri, he said I needed to see a surgeon. I went back to the 1st surgeon who said I have spinal cord compression & need a discectomy/ fushion ASAP, which I had 2 wks later. Didn't help any of my sx, except the locking up of my neck. The neurologist mentioned tos, so I found Dr Donahue, saw him in Oct 2011. He dx me Bilateral ntos Lt worse than Rt due to having extra C-ribs and severe narrowing of subclavien artery in costcoclavicular space & mild narrowing in scalene triangles. I had Lt. surgery in 3/1/2012. I saw the most improvement at the 2 yr mark postop w neck/shoulder/upper back pains but cont. to have elbow/fingerpain & numbness and developed CT, worse in Lt wrist, 6 mos. Postop. Dr D says I could have double crush (when u have compression up above its more easy to get pinched lower in arm).
I really think my CT and Ulnar N comp are a separate problem from the TOS, due to having an abnormal Ncs/Emgs in both arms (Median, Ulnar, Radial) last spring. Not related to repetitive work.
My advice to u is hold off doing any surgery til u have abnormal Ncs/Emg. Ease your pain by wearing elbow brace at nite, using Rx Lido. Cream, there's others and try neurotin if not already. Dont talk on phone or use computer to long!
I think 7 mos is way too soon to see if tos surgery helped. It took me 6 mos to just recover from surgery. Dr D says at least a yr, sometimes longer.
Hope this helps
Best Wishes
