Reoperation for thoracic outlet syndrome

The clinical history and operative findings in a group of 60 patients who underwent reoperation for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) are presented. The patients were severely disabled by arm, shoulder, and neck pain and presented with physical findings pointing to scar fixation of the brachial plexus in the neck (upper tract recurrence) or at the thoracic outlet (lower tract recurrence). The causes of recurrence of TOS as discovered at operation are outlined. Basic principles governing the surgical management of recurrent TOS are elimination of the known causes of recurrence, thorough neurolysis of the brachial plexus, and coverage of the nerves with healthy fat. The role of an expanded PTFE surgical membrane (Gortex) as an adjunct to prevent recurrent scarring is discussed. The surgeon who operates on patients with recurrent TOS must be capable of managing the potential intraoperative complications of severe nerve injury and life threatening bleeding.     

Surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome in young adults: single centre experience with minimum three-year follow-up

Thoracic outlet syndrome is an often misdiagnosed syndrome which consists of a neurovascular compression at the upper thoracic outlet. The clinical presentation can be variable, ranging from mild symptoms to venous thrombosis and muscle atrophy. Many aetiologies, both congenital and acquired, related either to bony or soft tissue anomalies, have been associated with this syndrome. As a consequence, the diagnosis is often challenging and sometimes it can be obtained only with surgical exploration. Additionally, no specific clinical test is considered diagnostic of thoracic outlet syndrome. However, the recent advances in imaging techniques together with a careful clinical evaluation give the surgeon the chance to recognize the constricting anatomy before surgery in many cases. No standard surgical procedure has been identified; however, in literature the largest series have been treated with transaxillary first rib resection. Here we report our experience in the surgical treatment of this syndrome with a minimum follow-up of three years. Our approach consists of performing a supraclavicular decompression without routine first rib resection. This allows for identifying and removing the constricting anatomy in most cases, with satisfactory results in 96.9% of patients and a low complication rate.     

Thoracic outlet syndrome. Thoracic surgery perspective.

We have attempted throughout this review to identify the issues surrounding thoracic outlet syndrome as well as to highlight their origins. It should be clear that many aspects of TOS remain controversial from the definition of the entity through pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. The conflicts surrounding TOS are underlined most poignantly in the many letters to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine in response to Urschel's 1972 publication. It is incumbent upon those of us who treat patients with TOS to dispel the ignorance surrounding this syndrome with astute, accurate, and reproducible observations. We must clearly define TOS as a clinical entity such that we may analyze the characteristics of the patients we treat. We must continue to search for innovative and specific diagnostic criteria. We must quantitatively and reproducibly measure subjective end points of pain severity and quality of life. The use of these methods will provide yardsticks for therapeutic success and act as determinants for the natural history of TOS. The objectives of treatment will remain the alleviation of symptoms and the restoration of function. We have applied these principles to the formulation of a protocol in which we record, in a prospective manner, both routine and innovative clinical parameters. With quantification of subjective end points, we may be able to correlate clinical presentation with outcome. We also may be able to define with some accuracy this entity we call thoracic outlet syndrome.     

儿童胸廓出口综合征的诊断与治疗

目的探讨儿童胸廓出口综合征的诊断与治疗效果。方法分析5例儿童胸廓出口综合征患者手术治疗的临床资料。结果参考陈德松等的标准评定，优4例，良1例。结论儿童胸廓出口综合征主要病理改变是斜角肌的肥厚与挛缩，病因是包括感染在内的多种因素共同作用造成，一旦保守治疗无效应及早手术。     

Thoracic outlet syndrome. Results of 282 transaxillary first rib resections

Thoracic outlet syndrome may follow trauma but also may be seen as a result of postural abnormalities of the shoulder girdle. Cervical ribs and other anatomic variations are not prerequisites for the diagnosis, although they may be more common in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome. The diagnosis is made by history and physical examination. There is no reliable laboratory diagnostic test to confirm or exclude the diagnosis. Proper selection of candidates for surgery can produce excellent and good results in a high percentage of cases. The transaxillary approach to first rib resection is tolerated well, and serious complications should be unusual when the procedure is performed by an experienced surgeon. Postoperative attention to shoulder girdle mechanics is important in the prevention of recurrence of symptoms and treating them should they occur.     

Thoracic outlet compression: Application of positional arteriographic and nerve conduction studies

Positional arteriography has not proved to be of significant assistance in the evaluation of patients with thoracic outlet compression and should be reserved for those patients presenting with an obvious arterial problem such as aneurysm, obstruction, or embolic phenomena. Positional ulnar nerve conduction times were positive in 88 per cent of all patients operated on for thoracic outlet compression. Patients with normal neutral and elevated velocities through the outlet should be approached cautiously from a surgical standpoint. We believe that positional ulnar nerve conduction times are a desirable addition to the diagnostic armamentarium of the physician evaluating the patient presenting with symptoms and signs of the thoracic outlet compression syndrome.     

Electrodiagnostic techniques for and conservative treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome

The reader should learn what electrodiagnostic tests to perform for evaluating conduction across the lower trunk and medial cord of the brachial plexus, and be able to prescribe a conservative physical therapy program for treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome.     

Rehabilitation of patients with thoracic outlet syndrome

A series of physical therapy protocols is proposed for patients with thoracic outlet syndrome. The anatomic findings dictating certain physical therapeutic approaches are outlined. General principles of physical therapy that stem from these findings are suggested, and a specific protocol for the physical therapy regimen is given. An appropriate physical therapy program for thoracic outlet syndrome patients with symptoms of mild-to-moderate severity can avoid early surgery. Degradation of symptoms or invalidating functional compromise indicates a referral to surgery. Physical therapy cannot replace surgery in severe or complicated forms of thoracic outlet syndrome with vascular or neurologic compromise.     

The rudimentary first rib. A cause of thoracic outlet syndrome with arterial compromise

The symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome are neurologic, not vascular, in more than 95% of cases. Subclavian artery compression is usually related to cervical ribs; however, congenitally abnormal first ribs may also produce vascular compromise. We review our two cases of thoracic outlet syndrome associated with significant subclavian artery compression caused by rudimentary first ribs and the prior literature emphasizing the mechanism of injury, diagnostic features, and treatment. Transaxillary resection of the first and second ribs was curative in both cases. The operative specimens demonstrated fusion of the rudimentary first rib to the second rib, with compression of the subclavian artery by a large first-rib exostosis. Patients with thoracic outlet syndrome and a rudimentary first rib should be examined for substantial vascular compromise, and, if it is found, the abnormal first and second rib complex should be resected early without prolonged conservative measures.     

Axillary-subclavian venous occlusion: the morbidity of a nonlethal disease

To evaluate results of medical and surgical treatment of axillary-subclavian venous occlusion, the clinical courses of 95 patients were reviewed. Twenty-three patients had acute axillary-subclavian venous thrombosis, and 72 patients had chronic occlusion. Thirty-four patients with thoracic outlet syndrome and axillary-subclavian occlusion represented 3.5% of the 969 patients treated for thoracic outlet syndrome during the same period. Nonlethal pulmonary embolization from the axillary-subclavian vein occurred in four patients. Sixty percent of patients were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms during strenuous exercise at last follow-up (mean, 5.4 years). Forty-eight of these 56 patients had received anticoagulation during the acute phase of the disease. Twenty-seven percent of patients had symptoms with moderate exercise and 12.6% had symptoms at rest. Thirteen patients had operations, with improvement demonstrable in 10 patients. All five patients who underwent first rib resection for intermittent venous occlusion or for thoracic outlet syndrome after thrombosis occurred on the contralateral side did well. Axillary-subclavian venous occlusion is a nonlethal disease but late sequelae occur in one third of patients. Early anticoagulation appears to be beneficial and, in some patients with concomitant thoracic outlet syndrome, first rib resection also appears to be helpful. Further data are needed to evaluate results of fibrinolytic treatment, thrombectomy, and venous reconstruction.     

Thoracic outlet syndrome: clinical staging

The clinical and instrumental manifestations of thoracic outlet syndrome are well known but the therapeutic choices frequently differ in relation to the physician's experience. Thus, there is no univocal opinion regarding the therapy of this complex syndrome. To solve this problem we have attempted to bring together the clinical and instrumental pictures in a single classification that includes the three fundamental aspects of the syndrome, namely nerve, artery and vein injury (NAV). Our goal was to achieve a universally accepted therapy-oriented staging system, as is the case with the TNM system for malignant tumours. From 1984 to 2002, in our institution 156 patients with thoracic outlet syndrome were evaluated. These were grouped in 4 stages depending on their NAV status. Subsequent therapy was in accordance with stage. Our results confirmed the accuracy of NAV. On the basis of our preliminary experience, the NAV staging system is useful for correct patient grouping. Now a prospective multicentre study is needed for universal scientific validation.     

胸廓出口综合征的诊断治疗进展

胸廓出口综合征(thoracic outlet syndrome,TOS)是指臂丛神经或者锁骨下动脉或者锁骨下静脉在胸廓出口受到卡压而出现的一些列症状。可分为神经型TOS、静脉型TOS和动脉型TOS,其中神经型TOS最为常见。TOS的临床表现非常多样,并且缺乏确诊性的检查方法,因此诊断应结合详细的病史、查体及相关的辅助检查。保守治疗和手术治疗均适用于TOS,并且都能获得较好的预后。神经型TOS首选保守治疗,对于有症状的血管型TOS和保守治疗失败的神经型TOS,应尽早手术。     

Neurosurgical considerations in thoracic outlet syndrome

The neurosurgeon is often consulted in cases of shoulder-arm pain that have as their cause compression of the neurovascular bundle in the thoracic outlet. He or she should, therefore, be familiar with the clinical presentation and differential diagnosis of this syndrome, as well as the electrographic and angiographic findings that may be present in this condition. If the diagnosis is established and the patient proves refractory to conservative treatment with physical therapy, medication, exercises, and modification of activities, the neurosurgeon may elect to perform scalenotomy, paying particular attention to the fibrous bands and anomalies in the scalene group of muscles that may play a major role in the compression of the brachial plexus and brachial vessels. Resection of a cervical rib or anomalous first rib may also prove necessary. Primary arterial and venous problems, which occur in approximately ten percent of these cases, are best left to the thoracic surgeon, but the transthoracic approach plus sympathectomy, if indicated, may be carried out by the neurosurgeon if he has been trained in this procedure. Emotional problems are often present in patients with this syndrome, but careful selection of surgical candidates will lead to a favorable outcome in 80% or better of such cases.     

Management of central vein stenoses and occlusions: the critical importance of the costoclavicular junction

The failure of an autogenous or prosthetic arteriovenous hemodialysis access is usually related to the failure of the venous outflow resulting from a stenosis somewhere in the venous system, commonly at the venous anastomosis for a prosthetic access or within the central veins. The National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines state that percutaneous transluminal venoplasty with or without stenting is the preferred initial treatment for a central venous stenosis, but the results of these therapies have been have relatively disappointing when analyzed as a whole. Although endoluminal intervention works well (and is, indeed, the primary option) for treating areas of stenosis surrounded by soft tissue, we believe stenoses occurring at the costoclavicular junction are caused by extrinsic bony compression and, therefore, should be considered dialysis-associated venous thoracic outlet syndrome. The treatment of venous thoracic outlet syndrome, based on decades of experience, generally requires bony decompression for long-term patency. In the last 2 years, we have treated 12 patients with dialysis-associated venous thoracic outlet syndrome with surgical decompression of the thoracic outlet. Functional patency was achieved in 75% of patients at a mean follow-up of 8 months. We would contend that not all central vein stenoses are equivalent and that an individualized approach is most appropriate based on the extent and anatomic location of the lesion.     

Management of thoracic outlet syndrome.

This overall management program for thoracic outlet compression syndrome is based upon experience with 153 extremities in 149 patients and the results of others. The following conclusions are documented and discussed. 1) Diagnosis is based chiefly upon history; physical signs are inconstant and often absent. 2) Major vascular problems are unusual; angiography is not always necessary. 3) Electromyography is not always critical but does aid in diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. 4) Non-operative treatment relieves most patients; operative decompression is indicated for a minority. 5) Transxillary first rib resection, with removal of cervical rib is the best operation. 6) Carpal tunnel decompression should be done concomitantly when needed. 7) Operation is relatively safe.     

同期手术治疗胸廓出口综合征合并远端神经卡压的疗效

目的探讨远近端同期手术治疗胸廓出口综合征合并远端神经卡压的疗效。方法对8例胸廓出口综合征合并远端神经卡压者,一期同时手术松解臂丛神经及远端神经卡压,并消除了全部卡压因素。结果按成效敏等的评定标准评价优3例,良4例,差1例。结论对晚期已出现肌萎缩的胸廓出口综合征合并远端神经卡压患者,应选择一期远近端神经同时松解术,以改善疗效、提高治愈率。     

Supraclavicular resection of the first rib for thoracic outlet syndrome

The experience with supraclavicular transcervical first rib resection (or cervical rib resection) and total scalenotomy reported herein shows this to be a safe and effective treatment for patients with the thoracic outlet syndrome. We recommend this method as a satisfactory anatomic approach for the correction of this condition. Its advantages are as follows: anatomic structures may be visualized fully by both the surgeon and the assistant; complex or recurrent thoracic outlet problems may be dealt with directly; additional procedures (such as vascular graft, neurolysis, neck exploration, sympathectomy and cervical rib resection) may be performed; the procedure can be done in 90 minutes or less; neither the patient nor the assistant is obliged to assume an awkward or strained position and consequently the likelihood of intraoperative iatrogenic injury is reduced; and neither the period of hospitalization nor the period of immobility is longer than with the other operative techniques currently used for this condition.     

Hybrid management of Paget–Schroetter syndrome due to thoracic outlet syndrome

Paget–Schroetter syndrome due to thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare but potentially disabling condition that generally affects young patients otherwise healthy. The prompt diagnosis and treatment of Paget–Schroetter syndrome is necessary to avoid major morbidity and long-term disability. The more modern treatment paradigm reported in the current literature consists of hybrid procedures with surgical decompression of the thoracic outlet and endovascular techniques to potentially improve long-term vein patency. However, there seems to be no consensus in the literature with regard to the timing and precise nature of active management, and there is presently no agreed protocol for the optimum management of Paget–Schroetter syndrome. Controversy exists partly because no randomised controlled studies are present in literature. We present a case of Paget–Schroetter syndrome due to thoracic outlet syndrome in a young male patient submitted to a multimodal procedure.     

First rib resection in thoracic outlet syndrome

Most patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) present with exercise-induced upper extremity paresthesia. Neurogenic TOS is the most common type where the brachial nerve plexus is compressed against a tight thoracic outlet. Vascular compromise although rare can result from thoracic outlet pressure against the subclavian artery or more commonly the subclavian vein. This article reviews the pathophysiology of TOS and describes several effective surgical interventions. Complete first rib resection with surgical decompression is an essential part of the treatment for TOS. First rib resection via supraclavicular or a preferred transaxillary route should be considered when conservative modalities provide no symptom improvement.     

Disorders of peripheral nerves associated with HIV infection

The clinician with interest in neuromuscular disease must become familiar with the clinical manifestations of HIV infection. It is important to realize that not everyone who is infected with HIV will develop clinical AIDS. This includes patients with clinical manifestations related to HIV infection, for example, neuropathy. Thus, if treatment is successful, patients can continue a normal life. HIV infection should be considered in almost any neuromuscular syndrome, especially neuropathies with features of demyelination, which may be the first manifestation of HIV infection. Plasmapheresis may be the treatment of choice for these disorders. Steroids should be used with caution. AZT seems to be a promising new agent to combat AIDS.