Hi Richard,

I had a trans ax right rib resection with scalenectomy last March 5th at Hopkins. Didn't take care of the problem with the numbness & was fraught with loads of complications along the healing path. One of those probs was a winged scap. Kicked in fairly quickly after the surgery and hung around for about 6 months. PT helped some. There are specialized exercises that can help strengthen the muscles around the area to stabilize until the nerves get their act together. Biggest thing tho that helped me was TOTALLY revamping my computer setup so that I had my arm tucked down to my side and shoulder back. I use a keyboard on my lap and a Logitech Trackman trackball on the seat next to my thigh. That helped cut the irritation extremely well and allowed the nerves the chance to calm down enough to heal. I also made up a specialized sling to wear during the more painful times that I wore even at night so that I didn't extend my arm beyond a certain angle. Not to say tho that I didn't do a lot of range of motion, just didn't overuse it. Hard lesson to learn but finally got it through my skull. Takes time tho to get beyond it. I'm still healing. Extremely frustrating but at least it's a heck of a lot better than it was a couple of months ago. Read up on the exercises that help winging and do them but if you start having too much discomfort, give it some rest to let the nerves calm. If you don't exercise it tho, you will have muscles that will have more probs bouncing back once the nerves get back to working properly to pull the scapula back in. As frustrating as it is, patience is the best medicine on this. From my researching, a really high percentage will resolve without anything other than PT and time. I didn't think mine would but it finally did. Good luck!

Mary

www.ShoreServiceDogs.com