I am new to this board, 37/male, and just had an xray that showed pretty substantial cervical ribs. The doctor said they were the largest he had ever seen and a neurologist that I went to next said they were the size of cervical ribs that he thought you only read about. I have sharp pains in my shoulders,numbness, my arms get fatigued very easily, and through an EMG I have nerve damage somewhere which hasn't been pinpointed. I was hoping to get some opinions from the fellow members who have experienced the same symptoms or gone through surgery for removal, or what other treatments you have received. I have had these symptoms for a few years and the pain just seems to be getting to be unbearable. If any of you have had surgery, how was it? What was the recovery time? How long were you in the hospital? What were you able to do right away after surgery? How long to be able to drive? lift arms?

Please help, I am concerned and in need of advice and support. Thank you all for your help,


Rob

Hello Rob,
We have a few that have had the extra cervical ribs over the years.
From what I recall , those with the extra c rib removal surgery usually had the best outcomes.
Of course finding an expert surgeon is very important, and being very careful post op.
Hopefully some of the others that actually had surgeries will see your post soon and reply.

From what I can recall...
I think for rib resections of the first rib, it is about a 2 month ?? recovery for return to daily activities.
I've seen hospital stays mentioned from 3 -7 days, longer if complicating factors.
There are so many variables it is really hard to compare though.

Hi Rob, and welcome to our group!

I had the rib resections - if you search my posts and others, you will learn much. Like here. Jo is right - finding an experienced Dr. AND having amlpe time to recover (1.5-3 years) are key to your success. Proper PT is also critically important as most PT will cause more harm than good for us TOSers.

Good luck to you - I hope you find some answers here.

Anne

Thanks Anne and Jo,

1.5 to 3 yrs? Why is the healing process so long? Thanks for the links, I hadn't found info yet that you sent me. I am hoping to get to talk to a cv surgeon in the next couple of weeks to discuss options, but trying to gather as much info as I can. It didn't seem like I have as bad of symptoms as some of the people I have read postings on on the website, but I am getting tired of the symptoms and ready to be done with them. Any info is appreciated! Thanks again!

Rob

I don't know if you saw our info stickys above the main TOS thread area-
Dr & PTs - http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread135.html
useful links & info - http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html
there are some polls, articles , videos {links} as well as various therapies in the useful sticky

Jo, I just read again your note about 2 month recovery time(the 1.5 to 3yrs that Anne emailed me makes me worried), that is what I am hoping for if I have to do it. I see the surgeon on Monday, can you email me with some questions I should ask?

will I be able to lift 15 pounds afterwards?(laptop computer bag)

thanks for your help,

Rob




From what I can recall...
I think for rib resections of the first rib, it is about a 2 month ?? recovery for return to daily activities.
I've seen hospital stays mentioned from 3 -7 days, longer if complicating factors.
There are so many variables it is really hard to compare though.[/QUOTE]

I wish I could say for sure, but so much depends on the level of damage that is done already, what the cause is, the surgeons skill, whether your body produces excess scar tissue or not , good PT and followup care....

My time frame suggestion was for return to most daily activities of life after an important surgery like this.
{doesn't always include return to work - depending on the job.}

It's just hard to say for sure either way..

It was not I who emailed you my friend.

another Anne?

maybe Rob meant he gest the emailed notices of posts- if he subscribed to them that way....??

Oh Rob, what is your avg general pain levels during a day?
0 being none & 10 being extreme.

Oh Rob, what is your avg general pain levels during a day?
0 being none & 10 being extreme.[/QUOTE]


I can avoid most of the pain from keeping my arms down, but once I elevate my arms (like holding a steering wheel or holding my children or anything about 15 pounds), my arms get numb and am in a decent amount of pain(probably 7 of 10)

I feel burning in my shoulders behind my neck and my fingers and toes tingle when I am sitting.

any thoughts?


Rob