i had a surgery 2 years ago to have my top right rib removed due to a massive blood clot in my shoulder when i was 18 about 6 months ago i started having the same swelling and pain as i did before i have hand 2 angioplasties sense then and 4 ultrasounds 2 ct scans and have seen dr. dean donahue the head of thoracic at mass general and they can not seem to find the cause of it. i recently have been getting exteme pain in my whole arm complete numbness with no sense of feeling from shoulder to elbow intense tingling in my fingers and the swelling is getting worse now there is no position where i can make it go away, where before if i held it to my chest it would calm down. im begining to think there is nothing anyone can do because i have seen 6 doctors with no answers. only 20 im having a hard time working and dealing with the pain and loss of strength in my right arm, and cause i am right handed my left arm can only do so much.

Hang in there. I'm 24 and have had issues since 23. Maybe since we are young our boddies have a fighting chance here. I hate to believe that we won't be able to work for a living or be disabled at our age. Keep looking for answers. Don't let the drs leave you with questions unanswered. I had a dr tell me that it was just muscle soreness. Unbelievable. Fight! If you have to be an *** do it! Donahue is a good guy, but maybe it's time to see someone else. I see a chiropractor and masseuse once or twice a week. Try that. It helps so much.

Jess

jrdnpoole,
Can you, or have you had any expert/advanced PT or expert chiro evaluations?

Drs & surgeons don't really focus on that unless it is something very very obvious.
MDs or surgeons haven't mentioned anything about possible adhesions or scar tissue??
* Some people produce excessive amounts and it can cause just as many sx as before surgery.
A few in the past, have had to have another surgery mainly to remove the scar tissue.

They did remove the whole top rib and not leave any stump correct? Sometimes leaving a portion can cause issues to develop.
It should say in surgery report, or ask Dr /office if still in contact.

i havnt done anything like that yet the only thing im worried about is that it hurts to put pressure on it if someone grabs my shoulder just playing around it kills so the thought of having someone push and rub it or around it doesnt sound flattering, and i was told there is a possibility of scar tissue build up but no strait answer. i just made an appointment to see a shoulder expert to see if he has any ideas that was dr. donahues next idea i can tell hes not to intrested or doesnt know what to do anymore because he wont return my phone calls any more i have called everyday the past week.

thanks for the support no one in my family or any of my friends really understands how bad the pain is so hearing someone going through the same thing saying keep your head up helps

I started going for ACT (active release technique) awhile back, stopped because of a surgery and am back four about four weeks now. The pain at first was pretty bad, but each time it has eased up. My chiro that is doing it, said each week he has been able to get deeper and break up more scare tissue. If you can force yourself to deal with the pain, it has helped me somewhat and I will continue to go.

Did you mean ART, Active Release Technique?

I'm always here to help you brmr19.

Thanks chroma, yes ART.
I have appointment tomorrow with my surgeon to check my progress and to test right side. We will see what he had to say.

I think seeing a shoulder specialist is a good idea. Getting a second opinion other than Donahue may also be wise. Have you had a neurologist check for cervical spine issues? Be persistent but don't be a pest with your doctors.

I think the only way that Donahue wouldn't return phone calls or be interested is if he's told you that he doesn't think he can help you. I'm very confident in saying that! He's very clear about the fact that he operates on very few of his patients, and when he does, he picks them carefully. If he doesn't think he can help you with PT (designed by his team) or surgery, he is very upfront about telling you this.