Emmie, from what I have read, my surgery outcome is fabulous. I already have full rotational movement, the downsides are that the chest area is still numb, the muscles in my neck can be tight and I have pain in my elbow. My PT says the nerve pain is to do with the wasted muscles, I had no idea that having your arm in a sling for just a week can result in such debilitating muscles. I would recommend after surgery that you have gentle movement as early as is comfortable, this seems to speed the recovery.
The surgery isnt pleasant, for me it was about the lack of sleep despite being fully medicated. I was very jealous of the person whose nurse bought them a lazy boy to sleep on, I would have killed for something like that!!!
For me, there was only surgery as an option as I had already had had a blood clot go to my hand and I am hoping the residual symptoms are not permanent but its al ong way off yet to make that judgement.

The Angiograms - I had 3 on initial symptoms which diagnosed TOS. Singapore has the most advanced machines and equipment along with an ultra efficient health care system. In one day I saw a hand specialist, had 2 angiogram CT scans, saw a thoracic surgeon in the afternoon followed by a chest xray. Nothing was booked before that day!!!
However noone fully explains what you are doing. I felt a bit like someone on the amazing hospital race, I always seemed to leave an office clutching an piece of paper for my next appointment which I had to get to in the next half hour.
I felt a real idiot turning up for the angiogram ct scan and not even knowing it involved a needle!!! The scan takes about 20mins, that put a needle in, attach it to a machine and then I was left in the room. A voice told me that it was going to start and I would feel "warm". The drugs get pumped into the arm ( this can feel like burning ) and then in you go for the CT Scan. they did 2 consecutive ones, the last with my hands over my head. By the time I came out of the scanner, I needed help to get my hands back over my head they felt so dead.
My second opinion surgeon recommended an arterial angiogram, which I presumed was like the first, of course, I didnt ask, just turned up to my appointment the next morning. They wanted to check the state of the damaged artery. I was expecting the same as before however this was day surgery. They put a local in my groin and then pushed some sort of camera into the artery and up to my shoulder area. This was agony, hurt like hell and I had to lie flat for 6 hours following to stop the bleeding. I thought I would be out in a few hours so took noone with me. I felt pretty traumatised afterwards but happy it was over.

So now after tests and surgery I am a bit wiser. In the last week I have had my middle finger on that hadn go cold and numb now and again. I went backto my surgeon who has put me on Norgesic for a week but frankly I am so tired from the drug I can barely stay awake and am not capable of doing anything so thats why there are no symptoms. They want me to have another Doppler test ( no needles!!) to check the blood flow in different arm positions again.
It was so quick from diagnosis to operation (1 week and that was only because I had been taking blood thinners) that I truly didnt understand the long term recovery plan or pitfalls. I wish I had been given some sort of handout with what to expect, other pain to expect, this website has been my saviour with realising that what I am gonig through some days is normal. I guess though that Arterial TOs is fairly rare adn I was only the 6th operation the team had done in their careers, so I cant blame them. Its a very Singaporean approach to medicine.
Good luck with the operation, a speedy recover!