I've not had surgery- I actually listened to that little voice in my head that said "WAIT!." that, and the thoracic surgeon i saw said it was pretty much 40/60 odds that it would make me better. I didn't care for those odds, and neither did he. I have been doing nerve blocks and trigger point injections since last October with mixed success. They have worked better over time, which is good. ANYWAYS- i would say to not rush into surgery.