I have scar tissue trapping my subclavian artery and vein, causing complete blockage of both (confirmed by MRA, and about a gazillion other tests). This scar tissue formed after surgery for a broken collar bone that did not heal. It formed to where my arm and hand was going off-color within 4 months of surgery. I make keloids, inside and out. Have not found anyone or any way of preventing or fixing this. It's two years later, and apparently scar tissue is STILL forming in there.

This scar tissue was seen, confirmed, by Dr. Donahue's specially-designed CT scan. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what he would do about it, because he mixed someone else's neck MRI in with all of my scans, and based "my" diagnosis on the bulging cervical disc that this other person had, but I don't. (Which would explain why he kept asking me about "my pain" when I kept trying to tell him I really didn't have much, it was the blue arm and the cardiovascular side effects that were the problems.) I found this out when I got my hands on a copy of his report about me, while waiting 4 months for his office to appeal the insurance refusal for the botox injections he seems to do on everyone as part of his investigation. (His office was not appealing for those four months. They had not done anything but make me think they were appealing.) When I finally got through to him to tell him of his mistake, he refused to take responsibility for his mistake and dumped me as a patient. So much for the shining Dr. Donahue. He will always be held in a special place with me, and it ain't in my heart. And it wasn't the mistake, it was the way he handled it that has placed him there.

So on to yet another doctor, New York City, again. Who said messing with scar tissue is a VERY BAD IDEA, as someone else in this thread said, it is tougher than regular tissue, so if you start pulling on it, guess which rips first (hint, not the scar tissue). And, also, there is no way to prevent more scar tissue from forming as a result of the surgical cutting. Which is also what a doc at Yale-New Haven, and a doc at Columbia Presbyterian had said when, they both eager to remove rib & all, I asked, well how do you keep more scar tissue from returning? and all they could say was "good question". But no answer. Because there isn't one. Other than to stay away from patients like me that will scar excessively, and ruin your record.

In searching for a possible solution to stop the ongoing internal scarring, I have run across many articles on scarring after TOS surgery that causes further problems and need for further surgery. I have also run across many articles talking about how surgery to repair scarring just causes more scarring, then more surgery, then more scarring.....

I'd also add the caution to be careful of any surgeon who say THEY never have a certain problem, and that it won't happen, unless they have specific, concrete, documented techniques for preventing it. And yes, be careful of anyone too eager to do surgery, but also be careful of those who seem too good to be true.