post rib resection problem
 

Hi everyone i am 5 month post op for my rib resection and still my arm turns blue and if my arm move slightly back or raise it i lose my pulse completely , still i have constant pain , does anyone have any sugestions if they are going through the same thing , also one note i for some reason pack on a lot of muscle very easy so i have rather large chest and arms which the surgeons have noted on their reports to wcb , any help would be apreciated

Did they remove the whole rib or leave a stump?
Has this been the same all along sine the surgery or was it OK and then got bad again?
Did they do anything with the scalene muscles - cut , move , re-sect them?

If you aren't sure you can get the surgical report, it should have all the details.

Did you have a very experienced surgeon?

Basically I'm wondering if it might be scar tissue & adhesions, or if not enough was looked at during the surgery.

i am having simliar problems 9 months post op. the 1st surgery was Transaxillary approach. I was told this approach leaves a small stump of rib. I have surgery scheduled for next week where they are using the supraclavicular approach. I will let you know how it goes.

the rib was completely removed and my arm only got warmer after the surgery other then that not much of a change other then that , i do get these new pains in my arm feels like some one is pinching me with a pair of pliers , no they did not remove any muscle but did cut some banding, also they have diagnosed me with multiple crush syndrome , now the are sending me for some type of gaglion nerve block what ever that is i have no idea what it is used for , as i have both vascular and nerve tos

Maybe a stellate ganglion block??

I read about that in the past on our RSD/CRPS forum.

I am very similar in terms of muscle mass (and I never really lifted weights). I had 1st rib resections but I still have some compression being caused by pec minor (this is steadily improving with physical and massage therapy). Are you in physical therapy and do they work on your pecs regularaly? It could even be that your scalenes have reattached somewhere after being clipped (this happens in 10-20% of rib resections without full scalenectomy). You may need a full scalenectomy and neurolysis to clean up scarring/adhesions if your problems persist.

I would recommend starting with your pecs and getting them worked on based on your description. There is a pec minor release surgery (tenotomy), but it is my opinion that this is unnecessary and has negative consequences in most cases.

i have seen a therapist for it but even during therapy i pack on muscle really crazy, i am built like a mma fighter, but i really getting tired of all the bs that the doctors put you through i had so many tests and each doctor runs the same test just because wcb does not forward on my results and why did they not remove my scalen muscle while they did the rib resection and the surgeon should have know this because in his report he noted my thoracic space was extremely tight and had trouble working in the area. also they had to use a machine called a spider because the asistent dr was not strong enough to help the vascular surgeon , and now they want to run another ct that will be my 3rd in less then a year not to mention a bone scan , and veinothgraphy , what they want me to glow in the dark

Rad,

A therapist that has you exercising in your state is the wrong therapist IMO. I chased my tail for years doing postural exercises only to get worse. I firmly believe Dr. Ando's approach is the best for chronic cases such as ours:

http://www.andoaston.com/staff