Hi all,

I apologize for the delays....I asked my mom to post for me while in the hospital to let my friends know I was ok, but she "couldn't figure this out".

I had my 2nd lat-flap surgery in Denver on 3/21. I came back here to Albany, NY on April 11 after 4 weeks in Denver.

This was my 5th (and final?) surgery for bilateral TOS. I so hope I am done with surgery! This procedure was done by Dr. Steve Annest (vascular surgery) and Dr. William Brown (plastic surgery). These two guys saved me, I am sure of it. I get teary-eyed talking about them...I mean, how do you thank someone for taking away that gnawing nerve pain?

The surgery went very well. I have 3 incisions - they opened the clavicle area again, there is one in my armpit, and on my back where they took the latissimus muscle. We were sure that scar tissue from previous rib resections was the problem...according to them it was "loaded" and there was a big rib stump left that they took out. Then they cleaned the scar off the brachial plexus and wrapped it with the lat flap. Dr. Brown actually had the resident take digital pictures (at my request), and he e-mailed them to me. They were breathtaking to look at, I think mainly because that was ME I was looking at!

This time I had to go home with one of the surgical drains, which was different than last time. After 12 days I was so afraid of the pain of it coming out, but Dr. Brown put a little lidocaine there and I never felt a thing. Just foolish for being so scared, I guess. The day before I flew home I saw him one last time and I have a fluid collection where the muscle was taken, so he tapped it. Again, with the fear....he did such a good job and I hardly felt it when he did it. The bummer is it's back again, but not so bad. My surgeon here is sending me to a plastic surgeon here because "he'd know better how to tap it". That's fine by me! I'd rather have someone 100% sure of what they were doing if they are gonna stick needles there!

Saying goodbye to the doctors was hard for me. I cried with Dr. Annest. I said to him, "I know I am just a patient of yours, but you'll NEVER be just a doctor to me..." We shared a big hug and some tears. I also told him I just don't know how to thank him for all that he's done for me. He said he'll never forget me...that I am their best result yet with this procedure and only the 3rd person they have done bilaterally. He said he may have patients unsure of what to do call me to hear my story and make a decision for themselves. I told him whatever I could do to help him, I would do!

The problem I am having now (4 weeks out) is vomiting. One of the meds is disagreeing with me, and I think I have it narrowed down. I also told my dr here yesterday I am going to start to wean the Oxycontin now too. I absolutely hate waking up feeling hungover and have to take more pills and fall asleep and feel hazy all the time!

I sure am taking it easy with the arm too. It's a little easier this time since it's my non-dominant hand too. I restarted PT here with the guy that I worked with after the last surgery...I figure I did so well with him last time, let's stick with a good thing!

Sorry so late getting this out, but I just now am comfortable typing with 2 hands again...

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! I can even send pictures if there is interest in that too.

Jen