Hi. I am also in L.A. with neurogenic symptoms. I also saw dr Filler but chose not to do any procedures with him as he is tooo expensive.I didnt like the sales pitch either. I chose to go with dr. Jordan who is also expensive but 1/3 the cost of Filler.I dont know how much my insurance will cover plus Filler does not have a good rep. I did a scalene block and botox with Dr. Jordan.
I am just now starting to feel the effects of the botox.I am going to see how much I can heal with pt etc. Meanwhile I am going to start seeing some surgeons.I am also interested in seeing Dr. Brown, so will be curious to see how it goes for you.Did you see Dr. Ahn or Dr. Gelabart? I am interested in scalenctomy without rib re-section.

have you had your surgery yet? If so how did it go? I am interested in seeing Dr. Brown as well.

Hello, I am just now 4 weeks post op. I have venous TOS, and unfortunately was unaware until I had a blood clot and swollen, blue left arm. I live in San Diego, though and was rushed to UCSD Hillcrest hospital. They first went in with catheter, and then did perform first rib resection. I would highly recommend them.
Dr. Bandyk (vascular surgeon and professor of surgery) performed my surgery and I was very impressed with him as well. I would recommend setting up a consultation if you are able. I was in the hospital for a total of 7 days, including both procedures and surgery though. I ranked the ER, hospital, and staff (nurses and doctors alike) very high. Hope this helps.

Unfortunately I haven't had any improvements for quite sometime. I believe after about 4 months was when I noticed the plateau and nothing getting better. I then learned what my triggers are and the signs of when I need to stop doing what I am doing. Before, I would ignore these things hoping, I guess, that it would just heal itself, or that it would go away if I pretended it didn't exist, (I'm a bit stubborn) but then paid for it for days after. Some days are better than others and some are just different than others pain wise.

It has been very difficult for me mentally and physically. My entire life I have always been VERY active: soccer, running, hiking, swimming, you name it I did it. Then, to one day not be able to do any of it anymore because somebody was drunk driving and hit me. It has been quite an adjustment and am just ready to, hopefully, get some relief. Tomorrow is the day~!

Thanks for this!

Here is my problem. The "UCSD Center for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome" seems to have no association with the UCSD Vascular Surgery dept. (Dr. Brown is a neurosurgeon). I am going to ask Dr. Niren Angle what he knows about this as he used to be the head of Vascular Surgery at UCSD.

If you have only neurogenic TOS and want scalenectomy only, Dr. Justin Brown seems to be a good option. I'm guessing Dr. Brown will send you over to the vascular guys if he determines rib resection is needed. Perhaps he is among those who believe rib resection is only necessary when a cervical rib or similar anomaly is involved.

Have you had surgery yet? How did it go? I am very anxious to hear because I too have seen Dr. Brown and am scheduled for surgery the first week of June.

Let me start with the fact that Dr. Brown is the second surgeon I have seen. I liked him. I found him very informative, knowledgeable and likeable. His office was very punctual, I waited less than ten minutes to be taken into the room and once in waited maybe 5 minutes for the PA to come in and take my history. I had a ton of information to give which is sometimes hard because I find myself forgetting some detail and found the PA getting lost in the details. Once my history was done Dr. Brown came in and the PA and I filled him in with all the pertinent information. Dr. Brown did his exam and diagnosed me with TOS. He recommended surgery because PT wasn't successful along with all the other steps I have been through. He will do a scalenectomy and he thoroughly explained to me with pictures what he will do, how he will do it, and what the outcome will be. He also told me the dangers of surgery, which scared the hell out of me, but if this will make me close to normal again I am all for it. This seems to be a very routine surgery for him. I also watched his hands the entire visit and they are very steady. Another thing was his poor opinion of Dr. Filler. And I quote "it is amazing how Dr. Filler sees things nobody else can see."

What I did not like:
I felt a bit rushed, but am unsure if it was from being overwhelmed by all the information. Also, that after giving my history, him never seeing me before, he jumped straight to surgery. Also, I feel like he didn't really look at the neurography films I brought him. He stated he didn't see anything completely obvious, but that is usually the case with TOS. He kept my disk and said he was going to have his radiologist look at it with him.

Overall, I feel there will never be a perfect surgeon, that I will find a fault somewhere with everyone. My insurance covers him so he has to be the guy... Dr. Brown has a great reputation and his staff speaks very highly of him. I have researched him and have found very minimal reviews about him, but they were all good. My theory on that is...more often than not it is the unhappy who write reviews to complain. I will be doing the surgery the first week of June....

I know this is kind of all over the place, my apologies, I am still processing all the info and the experience.

What tests did Dr. Brown do when he examined you? Is he ordering any new testing? What testing had you already had done?
Who else have you seen?

My advice is to schedule as many follow-up visits as you need to get all of your questions answered and feel comfortable. The better you and your surgeon get to know each other the better.

Hi , I agree with Marc, try to get all of your questions answered so you feel comfortable. I am curious also who else you have seen and what are dr Browns reasons for scalenectomy only. Also you said he has a great reputation.I am wondering where you heard that. I am also interested in seeing him, but I couldnt find much information on him.How many scalenctomies has he done?

Dr. F does not have a good reputation. My Dr.(Dr. J) also disbelieved Dr. F's diagnosis even though it sounded good to me.and told me "there is a reason Dr. F is no longer at UCLA". I was also turned off by the reviews , sales pitch and price!! Dr. J says the MR neurography is out of date and the Ultrasound guided injecitons is much more state of the art. The literature supports this also.

Hi CJ did you have your surgery yet? if so how did it go?