disclaimer, i dont even know if i need this surgery yet. i am still waiting for a block

but does anyone know off the top of their head if there are different approaches to this operation?
what kinds of questions i should ask beforehand?
is it a kind of surgery you would need to travel to get done or could i get it done locally (im in atlanta)?
is it pretty obvious to see if your brachial plexus is scared or stuck somehow while youre cut open? or can only a select few see this?

huge tia

From the research I've done, this is a very simple operation and there's only really one way to do it. You make a cut under the arm, detach the pec minor from the back, cut about 1 inch away so it can't reattach and voila.
The big problem, is the fact that you'll no longer be able to use your pec minor which carries a lot of disability so I understand. That will be what you want to focus your questions on- what will you lose the ability to do, what will your restrictions be, what can be done to rebuild, what's permanent and what's temporary, what will you need during the healing process?
It is a very simple surgery. Pretty much any surgeon could do it because it is literally just detaching the muscle. It's not like the Thoracic Outlet Decompression surgeries where a lot of scar tissue, corded muscles, fibrous bands etc. are removed and blood clots and the like need to be dealt with. It doesn't take very long under general and it is a day procedure so you'll be right back home.
I'm not sure how much of the brachial plexus they see during this surgery. That would be another good question to ask.
I could be completely wrong here, but that is the information I got from the research I did.

thank you so much for replying

i am grateful it is such a simple surgery.

i barely use my arms/hands as it is. but i am nervous about not being able to strengthen my shoulder post op.

if this muscle is the reason my hands are numb then it has to go, i cant take this much longer.

I can completely understand that. I definitely wish you luck figuring all this out and hope you get relief really soon. Sounds like you're finally on the right track. I'll send positive thoughts your way that you don't run into any roadblocks or detours along your journey.

I hope you can walk a dog

I've never had a pec minor tenectomy, so I don't know how capable you'll be to walk a dog afterwards (nor what kind of dog/energy level your dog has) however, I do have some advice for you on that front to make it more possible...

I had a 140 lb. aggressive mastiff. Eventually, she needed to be put down because all medications/behavior modification/training failed, but there was one tool I had that made me capable of handling her outside of our home (she was aggressive to any and all strangers) and this was after I had bilateral inferior capsular shifts on my shoulders. Because of this tool, I was able to work with her a little longer and she never bit a person though she tried like hell.

A Halti head collar. It takes all the power out of the dog's body to pull away from you and is very humane and safe. This is coming from someone who has worked as a vet tech. It works far better than any choke chain/pinch collar/anti-pull harness/head collars of other brands. It's affordable and pretty easy to find too. It may help you now with the pain you're having.

Make sure you bring your dog to the store to fit it correctly though. If it's too loose, your dog will be able to scrape it off their nose so ask for help getting the right size. Most pet shops allow animals in the store and the associates should be happy to pull a couple out of the box to help you size it.

http://www.companyofanimals.us/produ...lti-headcollar

I highly recommend it.