Originally Posted by LiveLoveandTrust

Got my surgery date: 01-03-13. My surgeon, Dr. Robert Lowe, seems to know what he's doing and has done many TOS rib resections so I'm going to go for it. I feel like I can trust this doctor unlike the ones I encountered at Yale.
I see a lot of people on here (myself included!) asking for personal experiences to help them prepare for their own surgeries so it is my intention to use this thread to document mine!
I've been diagnosed with arterial, neurogenic, and to a lesser extend, venous thoracic outlet syndrome on both sides. My surgeon believes that it's better just to get it over and done with especially since I am young so I will be having both sides done at the same time. His approach is transternal so he can get out as much rib as possible and have a full view of the area. He said that since he is doing both sides at once, my sternum will need to be wired to help it heal back together properly. I've never heard of this approach before, but I do feel like he knows what he's doing. I was told to expect a 3-5 day hospital stay if everything goes according to plan and for surgery to take between 3.5 and 5 hours since both sides are being done at once.

Wish me luck! I have high hopes that next year is going to be so much better than the last!!