I had surgery with Dr. Avery in SF in 2005. I'm worse for it.

He was very thorough in his discussions, good bedside manner, good follow up. However, when I started getting markedly worse about 8 months after surgery I wasn't thrilled with his response.

He said he was now having better outcomes. I asked why and he said, "I'm picking my surgical candidates more carefully." i said, "Does that mean I shouldn't have had surgery in the first place?" No answer...

He claims success rates of 85%, which a lot of the doctors do. I haven't seen any longitudinal studies bear out those numbers. Vascular TOS patients typically do better than Neurogenic, however.

There is also a doctor at UCSF who does surgery. I think they only remove the scalenes.

Good luck,
Kelly

Sorry to hear your surgery was unsuccessful. I appreciate the info about Dr. Avery. What kind of complications did you have as a result? Did you ever try to go back for a second surgery with another Dr?

I didn't really have complication except for phrenic nerve palsy (?) which causes the diaphragm to not work properly but that was supposed to resolve over time. My symptoms simply got worse, as did my daily headaches. After surgery I also developed migraines. I had an MRI of my brachial plexus with Scott Werden in SF eight months after surgery. It showed newly developing scar tissue on my brachial plexus. I haven't opted for more surgery. It seems to be a matter of diminishing returns if one tends to scar.

The problem I have with surgery is that surgeons often tend to hold the patient responsible if the surgery is not successful. You simply get handed off to the pain management doctors. I've never understood why doctors seem uninterested in solving the puzzle and answering why the surgery wasn't successful.

I wish you good luck whatever route you take.

Kelly