Posted by T.A. on January 29, 2000 at 00:24:31:
In Reply to: WC & Thoracic Outlet Syndrome posted by M.L. on June 20, 1999 at 02:37:28:
I am sorry to here about the situation you are finding yourself in r/t dealing w/WC. I hope everything works out for you. I know this condition is not pleasant by any means, & the fact that the majority of the general public don't have a clue about it, makes it extremely frustrating.
I feel that I need to share w/you that just because you don't have an extra rib, doesn't mean that the condition couldn't possibly be congenital. I as well, have bilateral TOS which is something that I have dealt w/my entire life, that has gotten much worse as I have gotten older. The type of TOS that I was first diagnosed w/was arterial in origin, was congenital, & I did not have an extra rib on either side. I have had bilateral first-rib resections, both of which drastically lessened the amount of extreme discomfort I had been dealing w/for years. There are people as well, that are born w/a cervical rib, that initially never have problems w/it & don't even know they have it, until they are diagnosed w/TOS after some type of injury (whiplash r/t car accident, work related injury,etc..) that has effected the cervical rib in such a way that it causes compression on various nerves in their neck which would be classified as a neurogenic (nerve oriented) type of TOS.
I hope that you find this information somewhat helpful. I know I appreciate & welcome any type of information I can acquire r/t TOS, especially since there are so many unanswered questions about the syndrome.