Originally Posted by intrepidreamer

No worries. It's certainly possible he could have utilized a hospitalist for something in the past. They are typically used to manage complex medical issues a patient may have. Say a patient may have diabetes and high blood pressure...surgeons usually defer to the hospitalist to manage these conditions during the hospital stay.

Originally Posted by JR1977

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I don't have any other medical conditions, so I was probably seen by a fellow. I may be remembering my roommate who did have complicating conditions and was seen by numerous doctors (my confusion is not surprising given the drug-induced haze I was in while in the hospital!).

Originally Posted by intrepidreamer

Hey everyone. This past Tuesday I had TOS surgery by Dr. Thompson. He removed my first and cervical ribs. He also removed my anterior and middle scalene muscles and performed a bilateral pec minor tenotomy.

I was nervous about a lot of things especially pain after surgery. However, they have managed my pain so well that I've had outpatient surgeries which resulted in more post-op pain than this.

I woke up in the recovery room with my pain about a 2-3 out of 10. It has stayed that way since the surgery. I'm a bit more sore now where they did the operation on my left side but it is very well manageable. I had a Dilaudid pain pump as well as a pain ball. I wasn't using the pain pump much so I requested that it come out yesterday and I've been taking Percocet as needed.

The staff here has been phenomenal. They have been very accommodating and have bent over backwards to help me and my wife. My pregnant wife had an emergency the same morning of my surgery and had to go to the ER than the OB floor. She is fine. They took very good are of her. The OR nurse called her in her hospital room every hour to keep her updated and Dr. Thompson called her afterwards and told her how the surgery went. I have been so impressed with the caliber of everyone who works here. Very professional, knowledgeable, and courteous. I should be out of here by Saturday. Will do another post in a couple days. I will check here periodically today and tomorrow so feel free to ask questions or comment. Thanks!

Originally Posted by kellysf

I could lift my arms above my head a few days after surgery -- before I left the hospital. As for weightlifting, I've yet to hear of anyone who resumed that after surgery. Has your doctor given you an indication that you will be able to return to weightlifting after surgery? I would guess weightlifting, for the upper body anyway, creates quite a high risk of re-injury.

Good luck,
Kelly

Originally Posted by kellysf

That surprises me because weight lifting, for some, is enough to cause TOS. And stopping weight lifting, for some, is enough to stop TOS. I would proceed very cautiously if I were you.

I had rib resection and scalenectomy, not the pec minor surgery, so perhaps there are significant differences in recovery.

Good luck.