I have not had any experience with either doctor. However, I did have experience with the previous TOS team at Johns H. and it was not good.

I was attracted to Johns H because of the excellent reputation of the previous TOS team leader. However, she switched me to one of her proteges. I was assured that the TOS leader would be there to monitor the surgery, but that was not the case. I and at least two other patients of the protege had serious complications. If you decide to go with Johns H, be sure that Dr. Kim (and not some protege) will do the actual surgery.

In addition to my issues with my TOS surgery at JHU, the preop and postop care at Johns H was bad. Filthy conditions, wrong medication, etc.

Be aware that if you do have any complications with Johns H surgery, getting help from other medical providers will be challenging. Because of Johns H's reputation, other providers will be reluctant to get involved.

Good luck.

I meant Dr. Lum, not Dr. Kim

Bumping up this thread...

I'm wondering if there are any other Dr. Lum patients out there who would be willing to share their experience, be it positive or negative, either in a post or PM.

I'm researching this doc and any info would be much appreciated!
Many thanks in advance.

I had my initial consultation with Dr. Lum on 4/2/15 for arterial and neurogenic TOS. He spent an hour with me and even participated in a second ultrasound to confirm the results of his exam. My surgery is scheduled 6/1, and I will update with relevant info (rib resection, pec minor tenotomy, brachial plexus neurolysis) when I can. So far he has been exemplary, responds to my emails within a few hours, appears to be highly competent and has a very caring, authentic bedside manner - I really like him.
Also, worth mentioning, I live in PA and Hopkins staff have been excellent in getting appointments scheduled (concierge), and working with my insurance.
Best of luck.

Egs78 - thanks so much for contributing to the thread! I haven't seen Dr Lum...I"m wondering what his diagnostic process is like. Did you have to go through lidocaine scalene blocks or Botox shots? Also, wondering how he diagnosed pec minor compression??

Thanks and hope to hear back from you...

Cyclist:
My case is probably a little different than most TOS cases in that there were no issues with my arm until I dislocated my shoulder last summer. I tore my bicep tendon and labrum, and the ortho put 4 screws in the glenoid to reattach. During that procedure, there were complications (punctured artery and vein) which resulted in an axillary arteriovenous fistula (repaired surgically December 2014) and lesions to the brachial plexus (still present). The joint is also frozen. Dr. Lum received my records in advance of the appointment, and ordered a doppler ultrasound and an angiogram with and without contrast. The doppler took place in his office on the same day as my consult and I had the angiogram at my local hospital and sent him the CDs. He confirmed compression of the subclavian artery at the first rib. He also indicated there was a 10% chance of additional compression from the pec minor - since this will be my third surgery in 9 months, I chose to deal with the pec minor now rather than risk needing a fourth surgery later this year. The neurolysis is to deal with entrapment from scar tissue where the fistula was. I did not need to have scalene blocks or botox, etc. I think when the issue is predominantly vascular, the diagnosis is a little bit easier, though I'm not entirely sure. Thankfully, I haven't been dealing with TOS for years on end like many here have, and had a relatively easy time with the diagnosis.
I hope this info is helpful.

Egs78 - thanks very much for the reply. Sorry to hear about your shoulder surgery. Very frustrating.
Not sure I completely understand what you've written. If the angiogram and doppler were able to confirm vascular compression at the first rib, why wouldn't those same diagnostics be able to confirm compression at the pec minor?

The doppler is a dynamic test. You move your arm during the test and they can see the loss of blood flow and get a sense for where the compression is. The CT angiogram is completed laying flat with the arm in a neutral position, and was used to evaluate aneurysms.

Hi all,

I'm a few weeks away from surgery with Dr. Lum and haven't been able to get a clear idea of how much time to plan to be off of work. Some of the individual testimonials I've seen online say anywhere from 4-6 weeks, while Dr. Lum has implied that this shouldn't prevent me from attending an international work event 4 weeks after the surgery. I'm an otherwise healthy 26 year old who doesn't have any pain/restricted movement symptoms from my venous TOS, but am undergoing the surgery to ensure I don't have a repeat blood clot. I'm planning to take it easy for the first two weeks with sick days and some work from home. Any other thoughts/recommendations on time off would be much appreciated!

Can you tell us where you got this brace? Or what brand it was?