Hi,
I went to PT yesterday. Paul is going to see me one more time and then he is going to write my evaluation for my PCP and then it's up to me to decide what to do.

Paul says that I definatly have neck injuries and my thoracic spine is definatly injured from what he knows about the human body and believe me he is smarter then most Drs.

He told me that surgery would be an option that I could think about. He hates to see me go through more surgeries but he did say that I will get worse.

I was going to him 2 times a week and then we waited a week for me to go back in and I was as bad off yesterday and I was when he started on me a month ago.

I am going to call my Ortho and go ahead and see if he wants to run test on me to see just what is going on. At least we will know what is happening.

I try to see surgery at a good thing to get me to doing better and not get worse so if my Ortho says yes, then I will have them. I've had 24 surgeries in 15 years including right side TOS surgery. I am determined to try and get better and if these surgeries will do it then they will happen.

My question is, have any of you had a thoracic spine injury or thoracic spine surgery?

Thanks,
Ada

Ada,
How did the right side TOS surgery work for you?
I haven't had it done, but have a nasty case of TOS. My docs (Schwartzman and Hunter),
told me that the sheath muscles "the ones that cover the back of your shoulders, and shoulder bone) would naturally atrophy. And, they did! It took well over a decade, now I can feel my shoulder bones (sorry for not using medical terms) just by reaching over with my opposite hand. They can also been seen, (through my skin of course) with my shirt off. That wasn't the case when I was first injured.

I have a good friend who's had the rib section, and she says it helped, but she and I still have great difficulty with TOS.
On THAT basis, I would say don't expect a cure, but perhaps some help, because so much of TOS is the scar tissue that remains from the original injury, and surgery can cause more. This causes an "abrasion" of the nervous and vascular systems upon movement.

It's personal preference, and I wish for you the best outcome!

Pete

I had right side TOS surgery by Dr. Sanders in Denver back around 2000.

It helped my pain 75%. I still have problems if I look at clothes on a high clothes rack and hanging clothes on a clothes line but it did do the job for me otherwise. He went in at the neck and took the rib out and also a lump up in my clavicle area.

It took me a long time to heal but I think because I had the RSD and hadn't been diagnosed and other problems that it did take so long. I have about a 2 inch scar at the neck.

I think a lot of Dr. Sanders and was sorry to heal he retired. I just got an email from him last week. He is still diagnosing and consulting but he is 78 and he was ready to enjoy life a little more. He was still going skiing at 70.
I am really sorry that he retired. He still calls me and emails me to see how I am.

My feeling about staying how you are is that if you don't try everything to get better then you won't get there.

Ada