Hi,

Did anyone out there have a MRA/MRV/MRI...if so what was the narrowing
( MM ) mine 6mm on the right and 7mm on the left. My doc has suggested
surgery...

Thanks

Thank you so much for bumping up this thread. Rachael, do you have a date for your surgery yet? I still haven't heard anything about mine. This info is really helpful, and allows me to plan better for the eventual day that I will go through this. I just know this is going to work, and while I may not emerge at the end pain free, I will at the very least be able to return to a lot of the things I have been able to give up. Hopefully I will be able to buy another motorcycle and ride with my family again. I can hardly wait.
Tracy

Ohhh! I meant to ad my experience to the list but didn't get to it in time!!
Supose it would help now??? Oh well , I'll add my experience just in case it helps others..


1.How was it right after surgery? Great, I was pain free on that side Day of? still good, medicated The first couple days? some difficulty breathing, hoarse voice, weak, but up and about as per Dr.'s orders

2.What was it was like when you left the hospital? A very painful ride home!! Take a pillow with you to hold against you for the ride!!!!

3.What was it like getting around? Slow and easy

4.What did you need help with? ie. how steady were you, how well could you take care of yourself? Help going to the bathroom? Showering/bathing? I did fine, showered the 1st day without help,etc.

5.Did you need help with the incision at all? Anyone just have incisions above and below the collarbone? Incision was above the collar bone, it was o.k. drain was in chest and had to be drained daily, needed help with that, bandage changed daily, easy stuff.

6.How did you manage pain? Did you need ice a lot? Great pain meds!!! Ice and heat.

7.What was it like the first couple of days? difficulty breathing and constipation were the worst, also had to sleep in a recliner because laying falt on my back made breathing difficult.

8.The first week? Same, began massaging neck and surgical site muscles, had drain taken out

9.The second week? still very weak, massaging muscles in neck and at incision

10.a month post op? still very tender and sore, very weak.

11.two months post op? etc.? same

12.How did you deal with meals, dishes, laundry, shopping? Did you use public transportation? No, under DR.'s orders did none of the above, had to have help.

13.How active were you, ie. walking around? walked to get back strength, that was about it, that and p.t.

14.What kind of tools did you use to make it easier for yourself? Any tips/suggestions? lots of ice packs, so one is always cold, squisshy pillows, Edglow p.t., hot baths, loose fitting clothes, no pullovers.

Thanks so much for any input. I really appreciate it.
Nidia Good Luck and Speed healing !!
G~
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hi. i posted this in the get to know you section, but wanted to check in...

2 weeks post-op...Oct 4th.

I'm struggling because of a lot of swelling and still a LOT of pain. I was under retraction longer than expected because Dr. Avery said it was really quite a mess in there. My numbers from mri/mra results that the narrowing was/is oops! 5 mm on right which I had done and 2 mm on left.

I have limited range & control of right arm because of swelling of nerves/ build up of fluid affecting biceps and deltoids. I can move my hand and wrist but that's about it for now. I had full range with my arm day of surgery but overnight the nerves swelled up and I've had a little day to day improvement since. My diaphragm was weak too...failed the sniff test to the extent that it was just very weak...thank goodness not more. i've felt out of breath too, but I've made huge progress strengthening by using the incentive spirometer. I'm very tired and wear out easily but am doing stretching exercises every day. Just going to be very slow!!

I had my first out patient PT appt today(yesterday) which went well. Before surgery, I moved to SLC to have support from family and it's been reassuring to have chosen to do the surgery in SF even though I'm doing recovery/pt in SLC. The therapist said the last surgical case she had was 15 years ago.

She and Dr. Avery have talked at length and I feel very confident with her. She seems very on the ball as far as the right protocols for healing from this surgery and nerve desensitivation. The facility is state of the art at the Univ. of Utah...just very few surgeries are actually performed here.

I have been so impressed with Dr. Avery. I met him a year ago and then again in March. I had to see a neurologist/ Dr. Ansel from w/c and get his go ahead before they would authorize surgery. Dr. Avery was very thorough before and after in his care and responds quickly. His assistant, Ann is really great too. He obviously cares about his patients...and not just those he does surgery on.
i'll give more in depth details/answer my own questions shortly!
thanks for the well wishes...doing my best to heal
Nidia



Injured July,2002: 2 door size boxes/ 120 lbs. fell against my back. Concentra, then Dr. Weddington for Thoracic/lumbar/cervical strain: PTand acupuncture & went back to "modified" work after a few weeks. R arm began to hurt 1/03, complained to work& Dr without any response, continued getting worse, switched Dr's, Dr. Swartz, MRI 4/03:tendonitis in R shoulder/rotator cuff, bulge in neck. Dr only offers meds & off work May/03. Changed Dr.'s again/Dr. Handleman: osteopathic manipulations &prolo injections,acupuncture & PT. Feeling best since injury until Dr. got a crush on me/had to seek new Dr., wc took 4 mos to authorize, got increasingly worse. Saw Dr. McClure had MRI/MRA Nov/04, d/x Bilateral vascular and neurogenic TOS. Cervical epidural Nov/04. Dr. Hines for pain mgmt. Dr. Rosales for cognitive therapy/psych. S/x on R shoulder 1/05 w/Dr. Greenwald. Cervical epidural 3/05. 12/05. Moved to SLC. Dr. Giovanniello/SLC treating Dr, cervical epidur. 1/06 & 3/06. Pool therapy/PT for TOS. Dr. Shulimson for cognitive therapy/psych. Cervical Facet block injections 8/06, authorized for rib resection/scalenectomy 10/4/06. On Morphine, neurontin, Baclofen, Cymbalta, Relafen, Prevacid, Trazodone, Lidoderm Patches, Imitrex for muscle and nerve pain.
Now: dilaudid, neurontin, ms contin, fentanyl, baclofen, relafen, prevacid, ambien. ativan, cymbalta, lidoderm patches, imitrex, and reglan

Thanks for the update nidia, it sounds like you have every bit of care and assistance you need to get through this! Sending healing prayers your way!!! I hope the pain and swelling begins to ease very soon. I also did surgery in one city and PT in another. It's so important that your PT and GP all coordinate your care with the surgeon.

Go very very slow for you now!
Anne

I am new to this site and your posts have been very educational. My daugher is facing
1st rib removal and I would like to ask if your surgeries were performed by vascular or orthopedic surgeons??? Thanks so much. We are a little confused right now and looking for referrals in Atlanta GA.

Welcome

Sorry your daughter has been dxd with TOS. TOS is quite miserable to live with. You have found the right place for support and answers.

Confusion is part of it. There's a lot of complex things that goes along with TOS. Please, just don't rush into surgery. Get your answers before surgery. There's lots of resources here.

This is the Doctor's link. It's at the top of the TOS page here.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread135.html
Scroll down to GA.

I was happy to see my wonderful cardiothoracic surgeon listed in KY, Dr. Atasoy. He's the only one listed too. He helped me a lot, with my other medical problems too. I found him 4 1/2 years after my accident. So I had been through the mill by then. He recommended surgery for me but I did not have that. Long story...

This is a painful condition, so that's normal. not sure if you're describing a more serious form of TOS. The after care by other healthcare providers needs to be TOS trained.

So many things about TOS.

Just look around, ask specific questions. We'll help all we can.

Useful links:

TIPS FOR TOS:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...highlight=tips

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...highlight=tips

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ht=tips&page=2

We do understand. And again, so sorry she has TOS...

FYI My diagnosis and surgery was performed by a vascular surgeon.

Thanks and good luck!

I am one year out from this surgery. My experience was it was truly a breeze. I feel lucky, given the other folks experiences.

The only hiccup was the first 24 hours after surgery. Apparently my lung got nicked or some such, and they were very interested in my ability to take deep breaths. I had this little plastic device that I had to blow in about every hour as deeply as I could.

Went home afternoon of the day after the surgery. Was weak and etc, but mostly from the anesthesia. There was swelling, etc. as with all surgeries. But, actually, since they were just taking something out, and not having to repair anything, it was remarkably easy to recover from.

I have gotten so much advice from forums before I decided to have the surgery. So, I'll offer here to answer any questions folks may have who are suffering from TOS. After suffering 20 years with numb hand etc., this is the ONLY thing that has helped. I would say I have about 75% improvement. Strengthening my shoulder seems to help the rest of the way.

[QUOTE=whitedianthus;844930]I am one year out from this surgery. My experience was it was truly a breeze. I feel lucky, given the other folks experiences.

The only hiccup was the first 24 hours after surgery. Apparently my lung got nicked or some such, and they were very interested in my ability to take deep breaths. I had this little plastic device that I had to blow in about every hour as deeply as I could.

Went home afternoon of the day after the surgery. Was weak and etc, but mostly from the anesthesia. There was swelling, etc. as with all surgeries. But, actually, since they were just taking something out, and not having to repair anything, it was remarkably easy to recover from.

I have gotten so much advice from forums before I decided to have the surgery. So, I'll offer here to answer any questions folks may have who are suffering from TOS. After suffering 20 years with numb hand etc., this is the ONLY thing that has helped. I would say I have about 75% improvement. Strengthening my shoulder seems to help the rest of the way.
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Any tips on what you did to help strengthen your shoulder? I have alot of discomfort from my rhomboid muscle amoungst others in my shoulderblades and soon to see a physiotherapists to work on this. But any extra tips/advice would not go amiss!