Major League baseball pitchers and overhead atheletes in general seem to be susceptible to TOS. Chris Carpenter was recently diagnosed with TOS and actually had a procedure done in mid-July. I find it shocking that yesterday, he was already back pitching in the major leagues in some rehab assignments.

I'd be very curious a) what his official diagnosis was, b) what procedure was done, and c) Who did it.

All of us struggle here trying to find solutions. I'd gather that Chris Carpenter has access to the best that money could buy. Would love to understand how somebody who puts extreme stress on the thoracic outlet area gets back so quickly...and immediately starts putting stress right back in the same spot.

KY

JKL626 just posted an article about him, too. It's hard to imagine throwing a baseball that soon after surgery.

Look at my thread about him. Several articles I posted answer
some of your questions

Cardinal Pitcher getting TOS surgery

Dr. Pearl (CC's surgeon) did the same procedure on me two weeks after he did CC; I went back to work this past Monday, and my job is fairly physical. I started PT at the 3 week mark and, while I'm not doing anything as strenuous on the surgery spot as pitching a ball, I am rapidly getting close to having the same use of the area I did prior to surgery. I would guess that, since CC was (and is) in far better physical shape than I, his recovery went much quicker.

I was unsure what to expect with recovery, as I had heard widely varying estimates and experiences - everything from "completely incapacitated for 3 months" to "it's been a year and I'm in more pain than I was when I started." Maybe Dr. Pearl is unusual, but I was only in the hospital overnight and, since I live within three hours of Baylor, I was allowed to go home the next night (patients further away are required to stay in the Dallas area for an additional 3 days, like CC did). I was allowed to use the arm/hand for simple things like writing and using cutlery the day after surgery. I'm still restricted from "jarring" activities like jogging or horseback riding, and no weight-bearing pushing/pulling motion just yet - probably another month of PT.

I don't know what CC had available during recovery and for physical therapy (he probably had daily PT instead of twice per week like I have), but as far as surgery/hospital, having Dr. Pearl do the procedure was no pricier than anywhere else I investigated, and Baylor accepts most insurance. I certainly don't have amazing insurance, just the basic BCBS through my job, and I'm far from rich - my annual income is less than what is generally considered middle class, in fact. No major surgery is cheap, but it's not a "Surgeon of the Stars" type of situation at Baylor. :-)

I suffered unrelenting pain 24/7 for three long years before making it to Dr. Pearl - I'd done PT, massage, acupuncture, nerve blocks, prescription drugs of all descriptions, traction, TENS, ice/heat therapy - you name it. Now, five weeks post-op, I am able to work (albeit light duty) taking only Lyrica & ibuprofen throughout the day, and cyclobenzaprine at night. Not yet pain-free, obviously, but I had given up being able to ever get back to where I am now, and Dr. P says it should get even better over the next 7 weeks. I've heard so many stories (many on this very board) about surgery ending up poorly or people having terrible long-term effects that I'm hesitant to be too optimistic this soon after the procedure, but I feel safe saying I wish I'd had the option of surgery years ago.

And I would enthusiastically recommend Dr. Pearl to anyone needing TOS surgery. He is very friendly and was reassuring both to me and my attending family member (in my case, my sister); he answered all my questions fully and gave me his cell number in case I needed to contact him after surgery. The hospital was clean and well-run; I was able to talk with the anesthesiologist and surgical team prior to the procedure, and the staff that took care of me during recovery was great. Everyone was very concerned about everything from pain control to making sure I got something to eat when I wanted it.

This is a surgical procedure that has come a long way in the past decade and continues to get more advanced all the time, and that may be a big part of why CC's rapid recovery seems so incredible to us. Shorter surgery times, hospital stays and recovery will likely become the norm as medical advances continue. I heard there is a place in CA that does it as an outpatient procedure now! Maybe one day it will be a ten-minute laparascopic procedure! ;-) But I'd settle for TOS being something that more general care doctors are at least vaguely familiar with so that those of us afflicted with it don't have to suffer and wonder for years and years.

This is great to hear. I'm so glad you are doing well. Where did dr.Pearl come from? did he study with Urshel?Has he done alot of operations? I am curious why CC went to him instead of Thompson in St. Louis.

Could you share what you had done? were your cervical ribs removed? Scalectomy? first rib? thanks.
Statistiacally , cervical rib removal has a better success rate then some of the other procedures.

Thanks,
jkl

I am so glad that I found this forum. My daughter is 19 and has been suffering for a year with pain in her shoulder, elbow and hand. Our ortho thought she had a tear in rotator cuff, but when we went to another doctor in Dallas, he diagnoised her with TOS. After 6 weeks of p/t, he has referred her to Dr Pearl. We have her appointment and surgery scheduled for December. She is in college and trying to make it past finals before surgery. I was just wondering if you can tell us about your recovery. I am also pleased to read that you are glad that you had the surgery done. I feel confident that Dr Pearl is the right surgeon after ready your posts. It is so scary, but we have to try something. She can not live in pain. Thank you for any information that you can give us. Have a blessed day. Hope you continue to get better.

I would like to know where he's located.

I wish I had found him or dr. Atasoy early on. I know he's up in age, but he knows his stuff.

There are major improvements in surgical techniques, I know.

Loved your post.

Hang in there and praying your outcome is great and everlasting.

Life keeps comi g at you, sometimes like a freight train.



Dr. Atasoy is my doc and I'm pleased with him. He helped me in so many ways.

Dr. Atasoy was the first doctor to diagnose me with TOS. I agree he knows his stuff and he was the first doctor to do a rib ressection and scalene muscle removal in the same surgery. He offered the scalene muscle removal to me after physical therapy failed. I was concerned with his ability for a surgery that delicate at his age so I decided to get another opinion. I did ask his nurse why he recommended the scalene muscle surgery and not the rib ressection. Apparently he no longer does the rib ressections and I did not really understand why but assumed it was something to do with his age. She told me he was retiring at the end of the year but he has been saying that for years.

Good luck and I do hope you are able to get better with or without surgery. Please keep us updated as to how you are doing.

[QUOTE=(Broken Wings);954666

This was a reply to your post roman8. I cut it off. IPad thing is thought tough to post with.
]Hey, romam8,

Sorry it's been so long to post and read on TOS. I have been overwhelmed.

As I've stated many times: life keeps coming at ya, like a freight train. Right?

How about you? How have you been getting along?

I have improved even more. I can drive three to four hours and then back home, with minor exacerbation. (To Louisville for dr appointments and the grandchildren).

I may take off to the beach any day now.

It could happen. I long to hear the ocean sounds, both day and night. Just one more time, please!!!

I got involved in a hit and run Dec 2011. I got rear ended again. he ran like a drug running criminal!!!

I did need to go back and see Dr. Atasoy. He and Candi are retiring. .

I don't know where to go when he officially retires. Afraid I'll get jacked up in the wrong hands. So many caregivers don't have a clue about the reckoning of TOS to a patient. Scary

I would scoot my way down the Mt. Parkway to Dr. Atasoy, cuz I couldn't crawl with TOS :

Back on Baclofen daytime, zanaflex nighttime and Lidoderm patches. Using lights regularly again. Hopefully, will be off those soon. I also acquired a neuro stimulator. It helps. Not like the lights, though.

Pain from TOS is rarely a 4, so I feel blessed.

I do like the LED and infrared light therapy pads I have told you all about from time to time. they are great.

I am very stubborn and take on a lot more than I should. I refer to it as getting over the humps nowadays, the hump, the hump, the hump...

When I do visit our blessed TOS forum, I quickly become more depressed. It's a lot of bad memories, all those years. And yes, it was pure hell!! 24/7, 71/2 years of it. I don't want to go back there, at all. So many of my TOS buddies here are still at a high rate of pain. It's horrible to be stricken with TOS. I feel your pain. I know where you're at. You're not alone.

A lot more recognition needs to be given for the debilitating conditions TOS and scalenes has associated with it.

I had other miserable things to deal with, too. Back pain is miserable pain. 24/7... Headaches to the point of pucking. Neck is probably in the worst anatomical shape. Still, surgery was not recommended for my neck, and a few more to deal with.

Things happen for a reason. I accept all that.

I've come a long way, and I give God the praise for it. It has humbled me, at times. It has made a fierce fighter out of me. So, I don't know how to put words to the destruction TOS did to my world. I could have overcame the others, I believe, if it wasn't for the scalenes and TOS factor always present. All of which I could've lived without.

I still haven't found my old self yet. Rarely, I feel normal with so many scars from all that I went through. Very rare. And I'm not a better person because of it, either.

I don't know how I survived. For many years, in the dark early morning hours, it was just me, my dog and God. Sad but true, I accidentally ran over my dog in March 2006. Bad day!!!

We just recently brought a kitten home. For years I wouldn't have another pet because I felt so bad about losing my Mag, and running over her didn't help matters.

We named him Kitty Boss Cat, cuz he's the boss. He has brought much joy to our hearts. He is quite the cat... Spoiled is what he is.

And the train keeps coming... :

Now I'm dealing with hubby. He fell 4th of July, 2012. He suffered a broken neck, stroke, and concussion. We just don't get off easy here at our home. Bad packs a wallop around here. It was very bad. I thank God he's able to get around, drive some, light cooking. He is a fighter. I am well prepared to care for his needs. I have lots of therapeutic means to offer him.

We struggle, with me having to be the strong one now, the driver for now...
Still working every day. Not as much, though, for many reasons...

Hubby is number one right now. I'll do what I have to do to see him through this. He is really having it rough.

We did discover neuro visual rehab for him. Didn't know it existed till now. It's very promising.

Sorry... I'm rambling again.

Take care and let me know how you're doing.