I had left rib resection and anterior scalenectomy for neurogenics TOS (with mild artery compression) on June 7. As I had lots of scarring, similar to a volleyball player, Dr Donahue spent most of his time removing the nerve scar tissue. Very slow recovery. Arm pit pain and skin sensitivity was very bad, much improved now. He can prescribe nerve pain med for that (Gabapentin). Excellent surgeon. He personally showed me my post-op exercises, not a PT or OT. Will have right side done within a half year (neurogenic with medium nerve compression. Special note, my sister had same surgery 2 yrs ago for venous TOS, so TOS can run in families.

Do volleyball players with TOS have a lot of scarring? Did Dr. Donahue tell you that? Just curious.
Thanks

He said that he treats athletes and the amount of scarring he found was more than he expected and that the amount was similar to that of a volleyball player. Athletes are prone to TOS, in fact, Chris Carpenter, pitcher for St Louis Cardinals had TOS surgery earlier this year, is returning to pitch.

did dr d explain what would happen if you did not have the surgery? How are you doing now?

Hi, sorry for delay in replying. Dr Donahue said that if I did nothing (and I thought of quitting my job altogether and then doing nothing), the nerve and blood vessel compression would not go away on its own. In his opinion, this would be detrimental. He said that blood vessels can withstand compression better than nerves, as a general rule. Nerves continue to make scar tissue to protect themselves, which causes more scar tissue to form. Nerve surgery is VERY difficult, and I did nothing, it is very feasible that I could reach the point where surgery would not be very successful at all and the nerves would be permanently damagedl. I have just booked appt for the rt side TOS surgery for Dec. Now, depending on what I do, the rt hand has more numbness than the left (it was opposite before surgery), so a definite improvement is being made. He said 6 mths to a year to recover. I go back to work next week (not happy about that). Hopefully I will do okay...

I can't say enough great things about Dr. Donahue. He has done three surgeries for me this year and has been amazing in every aspect. Please don't hesitate to contact me anytime.

Good luck going back to work...pace yourself as much as possible. If you type a lot check with your employer about getting voice command. It will make the return more successful. Keep us posted!

I feel so very lucky that I am seeing Dr. Donahue. I read some of the stories on here and they make me cringe. I think that it is very important to feel comfortable w/ whom is going to operate on you. From what I understand about this surgery it is not something to consider lightly, I know personally i've gone back and forth about it. I made a desperate phone call last week to Dr. Donahue when i was in a bad flare, he talked me through everything personally and reassured me that he was not going to let anything bad happen to me It is a rare occasion that you get a doctor who cares, I do feel truely blessed that he is my surgeon. Although i have not had my surgery yet, (it's OCT. 30) I have high hopes!!

Unfortunately, voice command software is not feasible, I have at least 4 applications on 2 screens open at same time, and also, having to talk on phone at same time, the tech dept said it would not work for me...I am quite aware I will be a very slow healer. Dr D said my condition was in the making for at least 10 years. My intent is to quit the job after 2nd surgery. (provided hubby is working, he IS interviewing, yeah!!) But I will keep posting as time progresses - this is all an education process for us all.