1 week post-op
 

Hey folks. Just thought I would give you a quick up-date on how I'm doing. Pain is better but still rough some days. I take the Percocet when I need it and don't hesitate to do so. Still taking the extended-release morphine but I will have to start weaning myself off of that in a few weeks. Turns out I had a small superficial infection in the wound so I am on antibiotics for that.

I was seen my Dr. Thompson's nurse practitioner yesterday. She removed my drain. It stung some coming out but was more uncomfortable than painful. It wasn't a big deal. Got a chest xray to make sure all was ok then saw Dr. Thompson in his office. He was very personable. Explained everything he saw in surgery and gave me a copy of his operative notes. The surgery basically confrimed his diagnosis as there was extensive scarring around the brachial plexus - it was compressed between the first rib, scalene muscles, and pec minor muscles. I also had an extra scalene muscle I was born with that he remove. The pec minor muscle was tight and very fibrotic. He told me based on what he saw, I would have not gotten better without surgery. This was a big relief for me as it reassured I made the right decision and I have high hopes of making a good recovery now that all of that stuff is removed. He handed me my rib. He includes instructions on how to clean it. I then got some more prescroptions and got my follow-up appt. I will see him April 2.

All in all, I'm glad I made the choice to go through with this and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of choosing someone who is an expert in the surgical management of this condition. I am very happy with my choice. Dr. Thompson also gave me his personal cell phone number and told me to call or text him anytime.

One other thing. It's important to keep taking your pain and muscle meds on schedule even though this means waking yourself up in the night to do so. I found a great app for my phone to do this with: MediSafe. I'm now taking multiple meds 3-4 times a day and this helps me to keep track of all of them so I don't miss a dose or take a med too soon.

Thanks so much for the update. Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I agree that after going through a surgery like this it becomes very clear why it's so important to go to an expert if at all possible. You want someone who is prepared for any of the weird things that could be going on in there. I also had fibrous muscles as well as some scar tissue from a previous (mostly exploratory) surgery that I had done about 10 years ago before I really got educated about TOS and found Dr. Thompson.

Sounds like you're keeping on top of your meds, and you're right - the pain's no joke. The app you're using sounds really good. It's a lot of meds at first. It feels good when you're able to transition off some of them.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Take care and happy healing!