i love the idea of the power of three - was that gibb who said that? right on!!!

just so we can keep it straight (OK, me!) and give each of you the attention you deserve, can you please tell us just the basics about your procedure, if you wouldn't mind that is?

like i know johannakat is having her R side done, transaxillary approach rib resection by dr. sam ahn here in los angeles (partial scalenectomy, natch - kinda hard to get the ribby out without doing one of those; sam's good but he ain't that good!). seems like you've given the other side just the right amount of time to heal from the first surgery, ho (i just hope sam is sufficiently recovered, hahaha) - to be honest it made me a little nervous when you were going to do it sooner. i'm glad things worked out this way!

and i think ihtos (now does that stand for "i hate TOS? just wonderin'!) said she was going with dr. richard sanders in denver, who i think uses a supraclavicular approach and usually does a complete scalenectomy as the first TOS surgery... but he will also a) resect the first thoracic rib, if he sees it as being part of the neurovascular compromise once he is "in there"; and/or b) perform the pec minor release if the dx tests he routinely runs prior to surgery indicate that muscle to be contributing significantly to the TOS patient's sx.

mucker, mucker, mucker! i confess i would need to go back and re-read your posts to recall which side you are going to have done first and i always seem to get the name of your excellent surgeon wrong for some reason. is it dr. bethune? but i think it's a transaxillary rib resection you are up for, is that right? i am so happy that you got the call earlier than you expected, mucker. i truly hope this procedure brings you relief (of course, i wish that for everyone!).

if you guys could fill us in i think that would be great. i know there are some who like to visualize, others who pray, and we ALL will be holding you in our thoughts and in our hearts on the dates of your surgeries as well as the days immediately following. this is a tough operation but i know all three of you will be in good hands, receiving excellent care where you are and also will have loved ones with you to help you. still, this is a big deal and we all want to support each of you in any way that we can.

this is so exciting - i was a nervous wreck before my rib resection but also i can remember feeling carried away by the whole process. almost uplifting, somehow. very hard to explain.

anyhow, my best to each of you. what a long hard road it's been! and do have someone post for you if that is at all possible, just to let us know you made it through OK, will you?

alison
"Be Brave"