Bed side manner and quality of care are separate issues.

Personally, if I was traveling to see a surgeon (Dr. Thompson seems to cater to traveling patients) and spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on transport/lodging alone, I would want to see the Doctor for any follow-up care, not an RN or a PA.

As we have seen countless of times with TOS surgery, it takes at least a year, if not more, to understand what the outcome of the surgery truly ends up being.

Behind the 4 patients he has featured on his website for the past years, there are another 4 who have been forgotten. Why were these patients not successful? As a surgeon, I would want to understand this so I can improve upon selecting good candidates in a very conservative manner.

Rjewels13 - Good for you for being informed, trusting your instinct and I wish you a complete recovery through PT.

I totally agree, you are so right about the other 4 patients for whom the surgery didn't work out, since TOS is such a disputed and tricky condition, the surgeon should definitely be interested in knowing first hand why the surgery didn't work so he could improve his diagnosis and save even more patients from unnecessary surgeries.
Unfortunately this is probably the case with most big hospitals and Top surgeons!
And still, if we want to know what's going with our TOS condition we may still have to go to one of these surgeons just to consult and be tested because there are not many expert doctors in this field to guide us.I would be scared of the blocks though, specially on the first day!
Whether we go through the surgery is always our choice, just like Rjewels13 did. It's great that PT is working for her! That's my inspiration I am going to stay with PT for now and hope that it works.

Seeing Dr Thompson on Wednesday am. Very nervous. I may have to do a lidocaine injection. I don't know much about it. Anyone have advice? Questions I should ask?

Thanks
Jess.

I had a scalene block injection by Dr. Jordan which is a diagnostic test with lidocaine. Its a test to see if you actually have TOS and will benefit from botox or surgery. The needles hurt a bit going in but for the most part not a big deal, and just a releif to have a positive diagnosis. I was nervous too,but trusted the dr.

Good Luck and dont be too nervous,I'm sure you are in good hands!

Ann4tos
I am one of those "forgotten patients" and still have continuing problems from complications of surgeries. Was told that there is no correlation to what is going on now with the complications that occured. Very frustrating...only saw the doctor one time and that was when I was in the Hospital.

chloecasey

Thanks for taking the time to post. Would you mind sharing your story of what occurred and your current status?

I had surgery 16 months ago and had complications post op that required 2 further surgeries. My JP drain would not stop draining (chyle lymph leak) and that is why. I had a bad pleural effusion and was in the hospital for a month, (surgeries 10 days apart).
It was a bad experience, was very, very disappointed that I only saw the Doctor once during that stay, and that was only after I pressed the issue.
Have not seen him at all since the surgery, (except when he got off the elevator on the floor below his office floor the last time I went for my last followup and ran into him when I reached his office door). I still only saw the Nurse Practitioner.

As far as my recovery, the surgery corrected my symptoms that I had prior to surgery, however, having 3 surgeries complicated things and resulted in having shortness of breath, and very bad fatigue (also tested positive with Mono 2 months after surgery), bouts of bronchitis.
I never had any of these issues prior to surgery. I do have a lot of tightness still in the surgical sight (maybe a result of scar tissue) so, I can only sleep on my right side which becomes very uncomfortable.

Hope your recovery goes well!

chloecasey

Thanks for sharing. I can identify with fatigue related to mono. I had a bad case which of it in college (basically a semester gone to waste...had to drop and repeat all my classes). I have had bouts chronic of upper respiratory infections ever since. I can't imagine having to deal with that post-op.

That is unacceptable that you only saw the surgeon once. I would have expected him to round on you each day you spent in the hospital. I guess he uses the Nurse Pracitioner or Residents? Is this a teaching hospital? It really does sounds like he wants to avoid you because of your complications. Some surgeons only want to deal with surgery...and successes.

My neurosurgeon is the exact opposite. My cervical fusion surgery was over a year ago. Even after we learned I needed TOS surgery and my remaining symptoms were unrelated to his original surgery, he remained interested in my treatment and progress.

I wish you the best and hope you can eventually find relief and resolution.

Yes, it is a hospital affiliated with a medical school.....when you put yourself in the hands of a top surgeon you hope that even when there are complications that you can count on him to address the situation in a professional manner.

Thanks for your well wishes

chloecasey

Sorry for asking for clarification, but are you referring to Dr. Thompson and possibly Barnes Jewish in St. Louis? I started this post because I have an appointment with Dr. Thompson on June 20th and I just wanted some honest input to be able to make a more informed decision. Thanks so much for taking the time to post.I really appreciate it.