Well I went today for all the testing at the University of Michigan, and these people are awesome. They have so much concern for you.

Met the Dr around 1pm,after having test all morning and he tells me that I need to be back Friday at 6am to have this surgery done. I guess it was worse then we thought.

I must have had 3 different dr's and 4 nurses come in and out, preparing me for the surgery. World Class place and I highly recommend it, if you need to see a specialist

Hi Rich,

Wishing you well for your surgery on Friday. I just had my first rib removed and a scalenectomy on my left side at Mass General Hospital in Boston on Feb. 28. Eight days into recovery, the biggest challenge is pain management, as I'm on narcotics every four hours but trying to only take them when necessary. I have been *so* impressed with my surgeon and the teams at MGH...it makes the thought of going back for my right side surgery much more bearable.

Take care and all the best,
Laura

Good luck with the surgery

Best of luck, and hope to hear of a good recovery when you are up to it.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, I am in Great hands and at one of the Best Hospitals in the country. Plus they have tv's in the rooms, so I can watch College Basketball All weekend

Well It went well, I am still in the hospital they wont let me go untill i can control the pain with just oral meds.

I cant say enough great stuff about the staff at U of M and the surgeon. He really knows how to put your mind at ease and all the worries out the window.

I can already tell a difference since the surgery was done, before I would be in pain and severe muscle cramps between my shoulder blades typing on a computer and here i am typing and no pain or muscle cramps> i know the oxy is helping the pain issue but the cramps were what bothered me the most.

So If you need to have the surgery, and are willing to travel to Michigan, it is worth every min.

I have had surgeries at 7 different hospitals and this place is by far the best hands down. The staff cares about you every step of the way and they all bend over backwards to help you in any way they can.

So thanks for the kind words and I will update my status in a few days. Anyone have any questions please feel free to ask, i will be more then willing to answer any questions I can, I like to help people in anyway I can

Thanks and God Bless

Rich

Glad to hear you are doing well. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but what did they do exactly? Scalenectomy, or rib resection, or anything else?

So pleased all went well, Rich. Definitely take care while in the hospital and I hope your recovery is as painless and comfortable as possible. I'm ten days post surgery and making small, but significant, improvements each day. I certainly hope the same for you!

Glad to hear your surgery went well!! I'm a fellow Michigander and I'm scheduled for a first rib resection and scalenectomy in a few weeks with a doctor at St. Joseph's in Ann Arbor. The vascular surgeon who is doing it is affiliated with St. Joe, but is also a clinical professor at U of M. I was diagnosed with true neurogenic TOS with arterial components. Pain has become unbearable, my circulation is being affected more and more every week, I have some muscle atrophy, and PT isn't helping at all... my doctor suggested surgery as the next step. It's reassuring to hear that your surgery went well and you're feeling relief. Take care!!

I had a rib removal and scalenectomy, that i forgot to mention. The Dr said there was extreme amounts of muscle around and attached to the Rib.

Over all 10 days later I would say its been a success, the Pain is Killer, and I have been going a few days on and off where pain killers(oxy) and Tylenol dont help at all but keep me wide awake. The past 2 days have been no relief but they make me stay wide awake, so I am hoping that tonight I can sleep for more then a hr after taking the meds before the pain wakes me up.

The dr said I would be in more pain then most because of the amount of muscle They had to cut thru and remove.

I can only use the computer for short periods of time, before the pain come back.


I know my body and I can tell this is going to be a long and painful recovery, but I would do it again in a heart beat.

It only took 4 years and being very determined to find and fix the issue, but like I say Never Give Up.


Oh yeah, learn from me, if you can get up and walking, do it. I was in the ER saturday night with the first signs of phynomina (how ever you spell it), they said from having a tube in my throat and not moving around will cause that, so I went home with a 3 day steroid treatment and some breathing treatmens