Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlorainne
He said he wants to do surgery on both sides to remove the anterior and middle scalenes, my first rib. And split my pectoralis on both sides.
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Jess, I have been thinking about you often since you posted yesterday (I have insomnia tonight for some reason).
It seems that Dr. Thompson wants to throw the kitchen sink at you by decompressing all three potential areas of TOS compression:
- Scalene triangle (scalenectomy)
- Costoclavicular space (rib resection)
- Subcoracoid space (pec minor tenotomy)
What is the evidence that you have all three areas of compression and why are all three procedures necessary? I'm worried that he may just performing a "one size fits all" procedure on his patients.
I may be jumping the gun as he may have just been telling you what
may be done. He may only do what is deemed necessary after he has your testing results as well as what he sees once you are opened for surgery. I recommend getting more clarification from Dr. Thompson before undergoing surgery. From my research, the pec minor procedure should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. I've been told that many TOS surgeons have stopped performing the pec minor procedure and that this area can be released by a skilled therapist in most cases.
The opinion of my surgeon (which I share) is that TOS surgery should be as minimally invasive as possible and surgeons can get themselves into trouble by "doing too much", unintentionally causing excessive scarring/adhesions or other harm. Don't be afraid to ask Dr. Thompson the tough questions and make sure he tailors the surgery to
YOU.
I don't regret for a second having surgery. I did a lot of research and by asking my surgeon a lot of questions I had a very trusting relationship with him by the time my surgery date rolled around. My surgeon answers email, perhaps Dr. Thompson does the same.