My TOS

My TOS  : 

I was the middle driver in a three car accident My vehicle was stopped and hit from behind by a car traveling around 45 MPH. That was 11 months ago, 4/04. I was injured very badly, broken left hip, torn medial meniscus bilaterally, 3 herniated cervical discs,2 ventral hernias which have since been repaired, RSD, and TOS. Believe it or not my Jeep was the only vehicle that was driveable at the scene. The car that hit me was totalled, and the car I was pushed into was totalled. I was the only person hurt in the crash. Luckily neither of my children was with me. I was actually diagnosed with TOS officially within six months of the accident. I have one hand that turns blue, the other turns very pale. I also have severe pain,burning, numbness and tingling in both arms, shoulders,neck. I've been to many Doctors, had lots of PT, and symptoms continue to worsen. I've been advised by at least 2 Drs. to have the surgery to relive the symptoms. I am on some pretty heavy duty pain medications. When they see my medical history no one wants to touch me, (it could also be due to serveral other things, I am an RN, and I am involved in a lawsuit with individual who hit me, and I had bilateral DVT's(deep vein thrombosis, with pulmonary embolisms) with subsequent PE's.) Sadly' I will be disabled for the rest of my life, and my insurance has paid 3 times as much on my claim than the insured individual who hit me. I've read a lot about TOS/RSD since it is believed by Dr. Selmonsky that the most common cause of RSD is TOS (look up Selmonsky defintion.) I am slowly but surely using the use of both of my arms, I have crushing chest pains, bad headaches, and periods of lightheadedness as well. I've also read that 85% of the people who acquire TOS from a Car accident are cured by the surgery witin a year. I've gone to 2 vascular surgeons who who agree I have a problem (DUH!!!!)Different colors both hands, both refuse to operate, because they believe that TOS is neurologic in nature rather than vascular in nature. I have an abnormal doppler study which reveals Hyperabduction TOS, and an EMG that reveals bilateral brachial plexopathies. At least one of the surgeons I saw admitted he had only done a few of these procedures, and that he would be doing me an injustice if he performed the surgery, since it is a very delicate procdure. The Other Vascular surgeon didn't even examine me and made a ruling that he wouldn't do the surgery unless I could bring him a note from a neurologist that stated I positively had TOS, (I gave him copies of both the neuroligist's report, and the vascular reports, and that wasn't enough to convince hi. I'm almost certain if I did give him that note, he'd send me to a neurosurgeon to have the surgery.) I even showed him the diffent color hand trick by raising my right arm putting it next to my left hand which appeared blue, and was much cooler to touch. This Vascular surgeon annoyed the hell out of me; especially since he never even examined me, read the other vascular surgeon's report which was quite lengthy, then looked at me very matter-of-factlly and said;"I won't do it." Noone that I know, other than other medical professionals, truly appreciates the many sacrafices that evey doctor makes when he decides to become a doctor. (I could't think of any sane reason why anyone would choose that profession, other than the same reason I chose nursing--the number of happy endings always exceeds the unhappy ones.) The difference is that as a nurse when my shift ends--it's over, but it's never over for any Doctor, they remain on call 24/7. Most of the time their chosen proffesion robs them of their true tresures in life, like missing one of their childrens games, first steps, etc...Most of them are noble people. I will be seeing another neurosurgeon to discuss TOS surgery next month. I only wish that Dr. Togut still operates, unfortunately, he doesn't. I'll keep you posted. Here is another little tid-bit for most people who have had a whiplash injury: It has already been scientifically proven That TOS is a common sequela after being involved in an automobile accident. Take care all. I Will update this as time goes on. Tina

Doctor Recommendations  : 

Dr. Allen Togut Dr. Paul Horchas