Dr. Pearl (CC's surgeon) did the same procedure on me two weeks after he did CC; I went back to work this past Monday, and my job is fairly physical. I started PT at the 3 week mark and, while I'm not doing anything as strenuous on the surgery spot as pitching a ball, I am rapidly getting close to having the same use of the area I did prior to surgery. I would guess that, since CC was (and is) in far better physical shape than I, his recovery went much quicker.

I was unsure what to expect with recovery, as I had heard widely varying estimates and experiences - everything from "completely incapacitated for 3 months" to "it's been a year and I'm in more pain than I was when I started." Maybe Dr. Pearl is unusual, but I was only in the hospital overnight and, since I live within three hours of Baylor, I was allowed to go home the next night (patients further away are required to stay in the Dallas area for an additional 3 days, like CC did). I was allowed to use the arm/hand for simple things like writing and using cutlery the day after surgery. I'm still restricted from "jarring" activities like jogging or horseback riding, and no weight-bearing pushing/pulling motion just yet - probably another month of PT.

I don't know what CC had available during recovery and for physical therapy (he probably had daily PT instead of twice per week like I have), but as far as surgery/hospital, having Dr. Pearl do the procedure was no pricier than anywhere else I investigated, and Baylor accepts most insurance. I certainly don't have amazing insurance, just the basic BCBS through my job, and I'm far from rich - my annual income is less than what is generally considered middle class, in fact. No major surgery is cheap, but it's not a "Surgeon of the Stars" type of situation at Baylor. :-)

I suffered unrelenting pain 24/7 for three long years before making it to Dr. Pearl - I'd done PT, massage, acupuncture, nerve blocks, prescription drugs of all descriptions, traction, TENS, ice/heat therapy - you name it. Now, five weeks post-op, I am able to work (albeit light duty) taking only Lyrica & ibuprofen throughout the day, and cyclobenzaprine at night. Not yet pain-free, obviously, but I had given up being able to ever get back to where I am now, and Dr. P says it should get even better over the next 7 weeks. I've heard so many stories (many on this very board) about surgery ending up poorly or people having terrible long-term effects that I'm hesitant to be too optimistic this soon after the procedure, but I feel safe saying I wish I'd had the option of surgery years ago.

And I would enthusiastically recommend Dr. Pearl to anyone needing TOS surgery. He is very friendly and was reassuring both to me and my attending family member (in my case, my sister); he answered all my questions fully and gave me his cell number in case I needed to contact him after surgery. The hospital was clean and well-run; I was able to talk with the anesthesiologist and surgical team prior to the procedure, and the staff that took care of me during recovery was great. Everyone was very concerned about everything from pain control to making sure I got something to eat when I wanted it.

This is a surgical procedure that has come a long way in the past decade and continues to get more advanced all the time, and that may be a big part of why CC's rapid recovery seems so incredible to us. Shorter surgery times, hospital stays and recovery will likely become the norm as medical advances continue. I heard there is a place in CA that does it as an outpatient procedure now! Maybe one day it will be a ten-minute laparascopic procedure! ;-) But I'd settle for TOS being something that more general care doctors are at least vaguely familiar with so that those of us afflicted with it don't have to suffer and wonder for years and years.