Doesn't the hospital have pts to help their own patients?

I would think since you have the pec, scalenes out of the picture, your 90% of the challenge would be to strengthen your scaps as the only "danger" muscles left are the lats...
And also activating your deep neck flexors.

Scar tissue I think is the new problem isn't it?

Thompson did my surgery. He was great prior to the surgery. He told me afterwards that I absolutely needed it because of all the scar tissue. Post-op was a different story. You go to the physical therapists for 1 session and they give you a few exercises to do when you go home....that's it. I live in Michigan so I wasn't going to travel to St. Louis for PT sessions. I had post-op imaging done at Mayo clinic 1 and a half years after the surgery and it showed scarring over the brachial plexus nerve roots, trunks, and cords. It showed suprascapular neuropathy. Also, they said I had chronic DVT in my right arm where the surgery was done, and possible arterial occlusive disease at the right radial level. None of my studies before the surgery said I had DVT in my arm so I believe it was caused by the surgery. When I brought this up with Dr. Thompsons office, they stopped answering my calls and emails. Verdella Brink is the secretary....she answered every single email I sent before the surgery. When I brought up the fact that I was still in pain and had a DVT in my arm 2 years post-op....no answer. They pretty much wrote me off.

I think what is really needed if you do have this surgery is someone (manual therapist) who is hands on that will break up some of the scar 4 or so weeks after surgery. Otherwise, you have no idea where the resected scalenes will reattach to. That's what they do, they scar and form onto surrounding tissue. My pec and scalenes are WAY tighter than they were prior to the surgery. My whole chest burns and has allodynia because of the surgery. I was fine right after the procedure, the nurses said I was the best patient they've had post op because I didn't complain about the pain. It was months later where all the issues came up. Thompson did not take the scalenes out all the way either, he resected medial and anterior scalene. He also only partially took out the rib, something I wasn't aware of until after the surgery.

That's really disappointing about Thompson. I'm hoping they could give me advice on conservative treatment and avoid any talk of another procedure.

Your story sounds just like mine minus the DVT. I started having issues about 3 1/2 years post op. If I understand correctly, my surgeon removed part of my anterior and didn't take out all of my middle, I still have my rib. My scalenes are hard as a rock now. What you said about them reattaching, that's what I would love to know. Are they stuck to the BP somewhere else now?

5 months ago I had a neuritis flare up that kept me out of work for 2 months (I've been back for about 2 months, 8 to 5 desk job). What I think is my anterior felt like it was on fire below my clavicle and next to my sternum. This lasted for about 4 to 5 days and was followed by months of pain that felt somewhat like soreness. Burning in my hand during that time too, all in the medial pattern. I'm still feeling some of this pain, my anxiety is through the roof thinking about it happening again.

And BTW, I live in Birmingham. We have one of the best medical systems around (UAB and the Dr. Andrews group) and I have yet to find a PT that has much knowledge of TOS.

Sorry I highjacked your thread jzp119...

I've never been diagnosed with brachial neuritis, they checked for that at mayo and said I didn't have it at the time but could possibly have had it in the past. I am familiar with that clavicle pain/sternum pain as well. My pec major/minor flare a lot on my surgical side as well. I believe the sternocleidomastoid muscle attaches to the sternum and can go off since it has to do so much extra work at times with so many other missing neck muscles (resected scalenes, omohyoid). The fear/anxiety of brachial plexopathy flares are the worst....the mind is constantly fixated on how to avoid it.....hard to think about anything else which probably perpetuates pain.