I had my left top rib removed at the end of Feb so it has been almost 3 months since my surgery. One month after surgery I complained that my symptoms were still all there and getting worse so they did CT scan and told me that indeed there were problems with blood flow in that vein. I went into the cath lab and they ballooned the vein and sent me home. It was great for about 2 days and it all started in again

I got the feeling that they didn't really believe me that my pain and numbness was all that bad until I went into the clinic and my surgeon saw the extensive swelling in my arm and ordered another cath lab visit.

Yesterday was my procedure and I was specifically asked if they were going to do scraping of the vein since they told me earlier that a stent would not work in this area because of where it bends when my arm lifts up. Well when I woke up I was told they put in a stent. This better work this time!

Has anyone else had a stent put it their affected vein?

I don't want to sound the alarm but I believe a stent is not recommended for VTOS. You can learn more by going to the website at Washington University in St Louis, one of the leading TOS centers in the US.

Hope this helps.

Regis

I have read alot of reports and putting a stent in after having the rib removed is acceptable. It is just not recommended in lieu of surgery.

Here is an update. After getting the stent put in my damaged vein I was still getting numbness, tingling and pain in my arm/hand. I went to my chiropractor and asked him if acupuncture would help these symptoms since it isn't a blood flow problem anymore. He said it was worth a shot so I had needles put up and down my arm and then they put electrodes on the needles that were by my ulnar nerve. I have had two treatments now two days apart and my pain is almost nonexistent! Ahhhhhh........