JAMY, do U live in Canada? It was remarkably quick, I had a 3 mo. wait to see the surgeon but when another doc offered to phone for me, the initial appt was moved up to just a few days. Then the wait for surgery was only 30 days, the amount they said it usually takes to get Ins. approval. I guess that's the good side of that highly occluded vein. Even Dr Annest said no waiting for someone who developed the vascular symptoms.

RE the outcome: I figure I'll take what I can get. If it makes the TOS 5% more bearable, if it makes the TOS surgery recovery more bearable, if it makes my cervical neck pains even 5% better, it's all good and worth the operative trauma and the post-op pains. Not to mention the comfort of a smaller size. Now I know I'd be singing a diff tune if I had thrown that clot to my lung but I felt the risk was worth it. I think you can find posts by others who had surgery quite a while ago and check out their results. I knew one wmn w/neurogenic TOS who was so delighted by her results and has worked FT for years since having reduction surgery only. She found articles and used them to prove to Kaiser that the surgery was warranted for her TOS and RSI pains.

You raise some good points Fern - I have been trying to get a "re-do" cuz I'm basically a 38 DDD right now - not good for TOS at all!

I hope you're loving your results!!! After one year, I was so totally healed that no one could tell I had it done.

Good thoughts your way.

Tam

Wow Tam,

If I had RSD, and I do, I would think pretty hard about having ANY type of elective surgery. You sound as though you are suffering significantly from RSD, UGH!!

I met a young woman who was a physician and a fellow patient of my Pain Doc. She had developed TOS from an auto accident (whiplash). She had surgery so she could get her life back. Well, NOW she is in constant, extreme, RSD pain all over. I felt so bad for her, it was obvious how the pain and depression was taking it's toll.

I have nothing against surgery generally speaking, but the RSD puts a rather different spin on that idea.

P.S. Spousal Unit has been using our main PC, so I have to wait before I can continue our conversation. I cannot wait to be able to use my laptop for routine email again.

Take Care,
Anne

Anne is right about RSD possibly arising out of a bad healing situation with surgery, or being triggered by an injury and then further irritated by surgery.

However, I had nothing to lose with my rib resection / scalenectomy, so I considered the risks, and luckily, my circulation saw improvement, and thus it helped my RSD situation. This may not be true for all.

I never presume to tell anyone else to have surgery or not - it has to be a personal decision, and I can only relate my personal outcome, and encourage everyone to do their research and hopefully personally interview a FEW TOS surgeons. (As I did.)

Tam-how long ago was yours? Another surgery doesn't sound fun.

My many stitched areas and actually many nearby feel like my soft cotton pajama top is made of the bristols of a broom. It's awful, especially when I move even a tiny bit. Do ya think I should be rubbing the stitched areas the way they have you do after the TOS surgery? It's pretty creepy to feel so much stitched skin. I've been putting Vit E oil on and no matter what my upper body, even my back feels like Im wearing a porcupine coat. The good news is that the headache is slowly subsiding! It may be due to less Vicodine, who knows, but I am grateful for the relief. I'll feel so good when I can stretch again.

My surgery was '87 I think. I kept vaseline on my stitched areas for a whole year or more each night to encourage healing. I know they have scar healing gel now but the vaseline did fine. Do not use an antibiotic one, as that creates keloid scarring - causes too much skin production to cover the cut mark. Any bothersome stitches (ones that wouldn't dissolve) I quickly noted to the surgeon for a quick removal - I didn't want any pesky slow dissolvers to create a lumpy look. I kept wrapping and the bras situated much longer that I should have - I still gave breathers and took cotton with witch hazel to gently cleanse and let the area breathe - but then I'd wrap it up nice. Gosh, I remember that first time taking all of that off, and standing in front of the mirror - woowie - I felt like I was 14 years old again, and I do mean YOUNG. It was such a high!

Sadly, over the years, my breasts just continued to grow. The only thing that helped to keep them in a healthy smaller version was to speed-walk every day for an hour - I was in great health while doing that. But when I got sick, I couldn't do it any more, and so the breasts began taking on weight, and now, here I am, with circus-sized breasts once again, that pull me forward with such weight, and I am sure attribute some to the TOS pain.

Like I said, I am ecstatic for you, and God bless your healing process!!!

My surgery was '87 I think. I kept vaseline on my stitched areas for a whole year or more each night to encourage healing. I know they have scar healing gel now but the vaseline did fine. Do not use an antibiotic one, as that creates keloid scarring - causes too much skin production to cover the cut mark. Any bothersome stitches (ones that wouldn't dissolve) I quickly noted to the surgeon for a quick removal - I didn't want any pesky slow dissolvers to create a lumpy look. I kept wrapping and the bras situated much longer that I should have - I still gave breathers and took cotton with witch hazel to gently cleanse and let the area breathe - but then I'd wrap it up nice. Gosh, I remember that first time taking all of that off, and standing in front of the mirror - woowie - I felt like I was 14 years old again, and I do mean YOUNG. It was such a high!

Sadly, over the years, my breasts just continued to grow. The only thing that helped to keep them in a healthy smaller version was to speed-walk every day for an hour - I was in great health while doing that. But when I got sick, I couldn't do it any more, and so the breasts began taking on weight, and now, here I am, with circus-sized breasts once again, that pull me forward with such weight, and I am sure attribute some to the TOS pain.

Like I said, I am ecstatic for you, and God bless your healing process!!!

PS - take a quick read of what RSD feels like and just check to see if you feel that is occurring to you and then talk to your surgeon. Doesn't sound like it to me - my RSD was severe swelling, burning, hot spots and then whole areas of my body felt like I was layed in a pizza oven (for real.)

hi guys..,...quick thought....I have had some ideas about putting Vaseline onto a healing area.....remember that it is sticky and if bacteria get in there they too will stick....so just keep all super clean as well as minimal amounts of the goop and you should be fine!

take care
victoria

Hi Fern,

Yes, I am in Canada...things tend to take a long time here...I waited a year and a half for an ortho consult on a foot injury, so long that I actually couldn't remember why they were calling!!! Then when I went to the appt, all the surgeon asked about was my scar from my rib removal surgery!! I get that a lot! I expect the reduction thing to be a topic of my next appt with the surgeon...I am just really torn about it all. Not sure why...guess I just wonder what effects it would have (on TOS, having children, etc)...time will tell.

Hi Fern!

How's the recovery going? Has the headache gone away yet? I bet you must be glad to be back at home...I certainly know how trying it can be to have a parent do the aftercare, especially when we are adults! Stressful for everyone.

My advice on the incision-site pains is to try touching the skin with as many sterile textures as possible, though you might want to wait until after the stitches are out. When nerves get hypersensitive like that, sometimes they need to be "retrained" back into their calm state. Using hot/cold contrasts can help, too.

Take care,
Melissa