Two Days Post-op TOS Surgery at BJH
 

Hey everyone. This past Tuesday I had TOS surgery by Dr. Thompson. He removed my first and cervical ribs. He also removed my anterior and middle scalene muscles and performed a bilateral pec minor tenotomy.

I was nervous about a lot of things especially pain after surgery. However, they have managed my pain so well that I've had outpatient surgeries which resulted in more post-op pain than this.

I woke up in the recovery room with my pain about a 2-3 out of 10. It has stayed that way since the surgery. I'm a bit more sore now where they did the operation on my left side but it is very well manageable. I had a Dilaudid pain pump as well as a pain ball. I wasn't using the pain pump much so I requested that it come out yesterday and I've been taking Percocet as needed.

The staff here has been phenomenal. They have been very accommodating and have bent over backwards to help me and my wife. My pregnant wife had an emergency the same morning of my surgery and had to go to the ER than the OB floor. She is fine. They took very good are of her. The OR nurse called her in her hospital room every hour to keep her updated and Dr. Thompson called her afterwards and told her how the surgery went. I have been so impressed with the caliber of everyone who works here. Very professional, knowledgeable, and courteous. I should be out of here by Saturday. Will do another post in a couple days. I will check here periodically today and tomorrow so feel free to ask questions or comment. Thanks!

Very glad to hear all has been going well for you and that there isn't too much post-op pain. It's so thoughtful of you to update everyone here so soon after your surgery. Thank you!

Thanks so much for the update. Wishing you a smooth recovery....

Speedy recovery
 

Thank you for your update. I am happy to hear of other people who have positive feedback after surgery. I wish you a good recovery. Take it easy and slowly.

Positive feedback yes but it's only 2 days out from surgery. I've learned one thing: take your pain medicine every time you are able to. Don't try to tough it out. I think this is very important in the early post-op period. I'm doing range of motion exercises given to me by the physical therapist. I wouldn't be able to tolerate them well without the pain meds.

Thanks for updating! My experience at BJH was similar - I was very pleased with the whole process. I wish you the best with your post-op and your transition home. Take care!

The only thing I've found that I don't like is that Dr. Thompson doesn't around and you while you are in the hospital. I'm not sure why he doesn't, but it does seem very odd to me.

Who rounds? A resident?

I think it was a hospitalist if I remember correctly, or maybe a small team - probably a hospitalist, resident, etc. OP can probably say with more certainty! I agree that was kind of weird. I didn't see Dr. Thompson again after my surgery until my post-op appointment when he gave me my rib in an envelope (somewhat surreal but I'm glad I have it as a memento :winky:)

intrepiddreamer

I had complications and only saw him once or twice while in the hospital which considering what I went through was not what I expected.....was there 1 month.
Nurses, residents & fellows were the only ones seeing me daily.

chloecasey

Sorry to hear about your complication. Not sure what to tell you. Dr. Thompson's fellow rounded on me each morning - the same one who saw me the morning of surgery. She was accompanied by some residents and med students. I will note that this morning I called the doctor line over some concerns I had and Dr. Thompson himself called me back and talked to me for several minutes. He even asked about my wife. Very reassuring. The muscle relaxer was likely causing some dizziness.

I got my pain ball pulled Friday morning and was discharged to the hotel Friday afternoon. This weekend has been challenging in terms of pain but it has not been as bad as I had feared. I'm on a long- and short-acting narcotic, muscle relaxer, ibuprofen, and stool softener to keep the narcotics from stopping my bowels up. I'm been very sleepy and confused at times as a result of taking these meds. They make me very loopy. I decided to try skipping them a little bit. We went out Friday to eat and by the time I got back I was an hour over due for my meds - I will not make that mistake again. I was in agony when I got back. I've had other surgeries before but never dealt with this sort of post-op pain. It has to be respected. Having my wife hear has been helpful - you have got to have someone with you or it will be difficult. I'm asking her to do every little thing that I normally do myself. You have to pretend your left arm isn't there. I will see him Monday for drain removal and fly home to Little Rock Tuesday. Then I will post a one week follow-up

This is a reason I try to avoid teaching hospitals. I wonder how much of the surgery he allows the residents and fellows to be involved in? I'm guessing quite a bit for fellows.

This is supposed to be a well rated hospital & specialist for this condition and vicinty wise felt I had made a reasonable choice. I was told by one fellow when I had to have 3rd surgery that the surgeon would be doing the surgery and that he & others would be there also, so when you are sedated, who knows?

Both Dr. Thompson and his nurse practitioner emphasized the fact that no one else but Dr. Thompson himself performs the surgery. Dr. Thompson believes that vascular surgeon residents aren't going to be performing this surgery in their practices so they do not need to be learning it during residency. He is known as being a control freak in the OR and believes the surgery is too complex to be letting others assist.

Sorry, it sounds from subsequent posts like I misremembered and it's actually a fellow who rounds for Dr. Thompson.

No worries. It's certainly possible he could have utilized a hospitalist for something in the past. They are typically used to manage complex medical issues a patient may have. Say a patient may have diabetes and high blood pressure...surgeons usually defer to the hospitalist to manage these conditions during the hospital stay.

I know fellows must leave his program with experience right? How do they get it? I believe Dr. Pearl was once a fellow there (please correct me if I am mistaken).

Google is great, isn't it? And apparently Thompson is a common name.

Off of Dr. Pearl's curriculum vitae:

Fellow, Peripheral Vascular Surgery - Preceptor, Jesse E. Thompson, MD. - Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. 1986-1987

http://www.texasvascularassociates.com/pearl.htm

Glad to hear the surgery went well intrepidreamer. Hoping for a speedy recovery for you, and thank you so much for posting your experiences at BJC. My surgery with Dr. Thompson is in one week and your posts have helped put me at ease. Please keep updating us on your progress. Thanks!

Thanks for this!

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I don't have any other medical conditions, so I was probably seen by a fellow. I may be remembering my roommate who did have complicating conditions and was seen by numerous doctors (my confusion is not surprising given the drug-induced haze I was in while in the hospital!).

Haha I know what you mean about this drug-induced haze! I was really out of it the first few days. When the docs would come in the morning my speech would be slurred and my wife said I kept saying a lot of things that didn't make sense. One of my nurses did point out it was a good sign I was aware that I was being drugged.:o

I am set to have this operation in 20 days. Any advice for what do at home to make things go smoother? I already heard arms over the head is no good for 6 weeks (???). Looking like my hairdresser will make some cash, lol. I am looking for help/advice/info on sleeping, dressing and when it's ok to get back to the gym and do so weights. Thanks!

I could lift my arms above my head a few days after surgery -- before I left the hospital. As for weightlifting, I've yet to hear of anyone who resumed that after surgery. Has your doctor given you an indication that you will be able to return to weightlifting after surgery? I would guess weightlifting, for the upper body anyway, creates quite a high risk of re-injury.

Good luck,
Kelly

Hi,
I am told that I can go home the same day as the operation. He did tell me with time I can go back and lift, but i have to start very light. The pec minor release is all I am having done. I am told there will be no noticeable difference when I am recovered. We will see i guess.

That surprises me because weight lifting, for some, is enough to cause TOS. And stopping weight lifting, for some, is enough to stop TOS. I would proceed very cautiously if I were you.

I had rib resection and scalenectomy, not the pec minor surgery, so perhaps there are significant differences in recovery.

Good luck.

Hi Kelly,
There are from what I have read. My TOS is Neurogenic, and I have it bilaterally. There are several pro athletes that have had this done from the Dr I am seeing and they can resume their occupations. I plan to be super careful with my recovery. I know its important to follow the directions. I had both ACLs done and I found having a time line to base recovery on was something that was super helpful to me (mentally).
Thanks!