Okay, so I'm a 14 year old girl and I have been suffering from TOS for 3 years. The other day I went up to Chicago to have my diagnosis confirmed. Not only did they confirm it but they discovered 2 cervical ribs. I'm scheduled for first rib removal surgery sometime in January. Can anyone tell me what to expect? How is the pain? How about when you sleep? What could you do, and what couldn't you do? And of course a 14 year old girl is going to ask this, could you text?

as mammals we are very complex organisms, but at 14 your dna is fresh and as such will help you heal fast. that said be careful when you text do not overdo b4 u are ready. learn to listen to ur body's signals. it will be important to have a good pt after to guide you in a gradual return to mobility. please please be sure of the diagnosis b4 they cut. what exactly do they plan? i assume one rib at a time with some recovery in between? any other procedures? is the surgeon one of the top ones? scared is good, it makes you ask questions.

welcome.

Well with thoracic outlet, you can never be 100% sure of whether or not you have it. And the doctor is only taking out my first rib.

Do you have the extra cervical ribs??

Or they are wanting to only remove the regular top rib?

2 different things, one is usually a needed surgery.{the extra c ribs removed}
if pain is high and/or blood flow is compromised {possible clots??}

If just a "best guess" at a "fix" to remove the normal top rib .. then I'd really research on it and look for surgery results & updates.
scar tissue complications etc...

For either case an expert surgeon is really best

get multiple opinions - don't just go along with the first dr that suggests surgery.

That being said..
what are your worst symptoms and what therapies and treatments have you had so far?
What is your avg daily pain/discomfort level?
0= no pain to 10 extreme/passing out

there is a link in the stickys post # 1 with a site that has updates after surgeries.
http://web.archive.org/web/200707281...com/tosers.htm

useful sticky-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html
drs & PT listings -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread135.html

They just believe that my 2 extra ribs may becausing my TOS. But the doctor is only removing the first normal rib. I have been to soo many doctors and TOS has been confirmed, so I'm confident that I have it.

Hi, I actually wanted to recommend that first link that Jo*mar posted, but couldn't because this is my first comment here, plus I was a little unsure of what to say.

I highly suggest that you look at that link, especially the names with a check (for "update"), because, as Jo*mar said, the update is often for a discussion of the commenter's surgery. To be honest, you will find that many of these patients ended up worse after surgery. I think that this is something that should be seriously considered before anyone rushes into surgery.

Is there reason they aren't removing the extra c ribs?

I'm just wondering why the top rib instead, unless they have MRI or other tests that point them to the top rib instead....

Many do have the surgery and do fine, some famous ball players had it and are still playing .
But they do go thru bouts of other"injuries" and need time to recuperate from those..
Hank Blalock of the Texas rangers was one. he had TOS surgery and checking up on his stats you can see he has had many "other" injuries following him and he continues to play...or at least last year when i checked how he was doing on the rangers website.

I think the some of the main things we suggest is to make sure you get other opinions from independent & expert surgeons- not a friend or office partner.

Look at the both sides- pros & cons -the what if's
don't automatically think you will be 100%, be hopeful for it, but prepare for maybe less improvement.
Each case has so many variables - the causes of TOS, the surgeons, if your body happens to make excessive scar tissue...

I hope your parents will ask many questions of the surgeon about the procedure and recovery.
I hope they are reading up on all things TOS related, it's a lot for a teenager to absorb.