Hello everyone...I am booked for my rib-resection on July 12. Was hoping others could share their post-op experiences. I am curious to know what I can expect by means of pain, how long will I be out of commission, how intesnse is the pain etc. How long were you in the hospital? What was your pain management regime etc etc.

My surgeon suggested it is about a 6-8 week recovery. It sounds like a long time, but I can imagine the overall experience is both draining and painful, so makes sense I suppose. I would appreciate your thoughts and input.

Thank you!

Everyone's experience is different as each TOS case is unique and the surgery is somewhat exploratory. Your personal health going into surgery and your surgeon's skill/experience are also factors.

My surgeon told me 6-8 weeks as well. I will be 8 weeks post-op on the left side, and 3 weeks on the right tomorrow. While I am not 100% on the left side, I am well enough to return to work if not for the right side. I hope to return to work within 4 weeks.

The surgical method also matters. I believe recovery from transaxillary procedures are faster, but the supraclavicular methods are more complete and reduce chances of recurrence. My procedures were transaxillary and I spent only 24 hours in the hospital each time.

Is your surgery for vascular TOS, neurogenic, or both? Mine were for both

Hello...thanks for your reply. My surgery is for venous TOS. There are only 2 surgeons in Toronto who do this type of surgery and both of them will be together for the operation as one is retiring and the other is his apprentice. Luckily for me I did not get scheduled for a date after the transition, or I would feel a bit uncomfortable having a "newbie" perform the surgery (though he is probably a great surgeon). Kind of a good feeling knowing there will be 2 experts in the room! How bad was the pain for you?

The pain was much less than I expected, but I had minimal surgical complications. My surgical pain didn't last very long at all, the healing of my nerves is what is taking longer which you shouldn't have to worry about.

Do you know the details of your procedure? Rib resection? Scalenectomy? Supraclavicular? Transaxillary?

I'm glad you aren't getting stuck with the newbie!

Hi, if you do a search using the link in my siggy you can find many threads/ posts about pre op and post op. Use specific search words to get the best results. rib resection surgery or something like it.

I'd locate some for you but had to till my garden & replant a bunch of it & not quite done yet...so kind of saving myself for that project..

I am having a rib-resection.