There are times when I have tingling and nerve pain in my hand, but it is drastically improved after surgery.
My incision looks really good, and I still can't believe how little bruising there was. Dr. Annest placed subcutaneous sutures, so they are buried beneath the skin, and would not need to be removed:
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| Incision 1 month post surgery. The red dot about 3 inches below the incision is where the chest tube was inserted. |
Tressa. Reading your story is like reading my own. I had decompression surgery (Supraclavicular neurolysis) on April 5 2012. I had venous and neurogenic impingement on the left side. After surgery I have improved overall, but, still have chronic nerve pain. There is a closed TOS support group on Facebook that has helped me a great deal. If you use Facebook and want to check it out I can ask to have you added - http://www.facebook.com/groups/TosSupport/. My FB is http://www.facebook.com/allan.mcconnell.56. Take care.
ReplyDeleteGreat informational blog you have, Tressa. I would love to add you to my blog list, if that's alright? Thanks!
ReplyDeletewww.rtosjourney.blogspot.com
Hi Tressa! It was nice reading your story about TOS. I have TOS since about 1.5 years (had bloodclots in my subclavian vein) and I'm still fighting with myself if I should get the rib resection done or not. It seems like you are the only one that had success with that surgery. I can't find anybody else on the internet that had a good outcome after the surgery. So I was wondering how you are doing right now 2 years later? Can you be active again and do all the things you did before TOS struck you?
ReplyDeleteIt seems like most people that had the surgery initially did great but then after 3 to 5 years they had problems all over again and had to go back for yet another surgery. I'm worried about that :-(
Oh my gosh, I was so excited to find this page!!! I had a very sudden onset of veinous TOS about a month ago and ended up with a rib resection and a scar under my arm. 5 weeks ago I didn't even know that TOS existed... Then my arm suddenly swelled up due to a blood clot from the compressed vein and I was tossed into this new crazy experience. The surgeon pushed to dissolve the blood clot and perform the rib resection immediately after to make sure it didn't reoccur. I have been SEARCHING for info and photos of what this scar will feel/look like. Specifically with the arm down - it feels tight and I also have a weird extra crease and I'm really worried the scar might have some kind of adhesion. I'm at 4 weeks right now and I just want to know if it will get better and by how much. I'm a dancer and the way it creases now would be really hard to hide. Thanks for sharing your story and photos. If you would ever be willing, I would love to hear how you are doing and see what your scars look like now. Thank you again for putting this out there!
ReplyDeleteReally sorry to hear about how much suffering you went through. I suffered for many years with numbness, tingling, coldness, and aching in my hands, wrists, and forearms (and popping of the ulnar nerve around my elbow). I fortunately eventually found ways to exercise to a full resolution. I'm curious to know how your surgical recovery went. Can you share any more of your experience after that first month?
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, it seems like you had the same symptoms that I have. I was wondering if we would get in touch and you could share how you recovered. I am desperate to get out of this pain, but I'm trying to avoid surgery if possible. Thanks!
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DeleteHi Kuldeep,
ReplyDeleteI wrote a blog post to cover some of the details of my experience and ways I gradually got out of it here: https://uprighthealth.com/constant-hand-wrist-and-elbow-pain-made-life-nearly-unbearable/
I hope it helps. We're also in the process of compiling all the existing research on thoracic outlet surgery success rates and doing a thorough write up. What we're finding is that it doesn't look like surgery generally results in full relief of the problem, so getting real stories and the full details about people's recoveries seems like a very good step when considering ways to solve this problem.
You can use the contact form on the website to contact me, though due to the volume of email, there may be a delay in response. Best of luck to you and everyone else!
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