EXTRA CERVICAL RIBS ON BOTH SIDES AT C7

Depends on your location. My surgeon was very good and very experienced, but he was in Lancaster.

Have you had an xray? Or been diagnosed by a dr?

By the time I had my surgery I could not lift a cup of tea, it was a very difficult time. recovery from surgery is difficult too.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot Jopo. I am from India and I am not getting proper advice about my problem here.So please tell me contact details of your sergeon. thanks again

Hi,

It must be difficult being somewhere they don't have the treatment for it.

My surgeon was mr Wilson, at Lancaster hospital.

Good luck!

i know how u feel i also am suffering similar problems, i thing due to nerve damage ,but the worst problem at the moment is ,dissiness and general feeling ill , and i get pain in face and head and sholder ,my specialist is sending me for an mri , on head and is it called clavical top of spine to c if ,theres a nerve thing goin on as i feel i have no quality of life, i am not even getting out much now because of the dissiness and ,i am not reliable at all ,i miss out on lots ,because of being ill all the time i am hoping .they come up with something ,as i am rattling with tablets.

i had my surgery at leicester they were great ,it just unfortunate i getting problems again ,with the knuckle end left in .hope u get sorted, soon .

Hi I had surgery to remove my cervical rib left side on 7th March so early days of recovery although it is going well. I have feeling in my arms although they are very week. It took years to find out what was causing my symptoms, many different diagnosis first. It was finally diagnosed in July 2011. By this time I was on serious painkillers, not sleeping and also the relentlessness of the situation was reducing me to tears. I had Physiotherapy which included, traction, but particularly the massaging on the neck which together reduced the stiffness. This eased the symptoms for a while but then required surgery. My surgeon was very good and knew exactly what he was looking for when I gave the symptoms.

I hope you find a solution soon.

Hi Purpleskimp at first i m so sorry for late reply because i was not able to press keys of keyboard and many more problems of arms. at present i m having pain in shoulders, neck, head, arms, wrists and both hands are having swelling. i m not yet getting solution in India. so if possible please let me know your surgeon. its a request dear friend. and how are you feeling now? what is post op experience? thanks a lot

Hi Aarti I am so sorry that you are getting so bad. My pain had become bad and functioning difficult but not as bad as you are experiencing.

It is now 13 weeks since my surgery and my life has changed. I can sleep at night, I am not taking pain killers, I still get some tingling but only if I do too much, if I rest for a day or so it goes. I have read many bad reports on surgery but my personal experience has been good. It took until a few weeks ago to feel the difference but it is now very good.

Straight after surgery I had warmth in my hands, due to the bad blood flow prior they were Ice cold. The pain after surgery was very bad for 2 wks then eased off over the next few weeks. I was off work for 6 wks but after the 5th week felt much better. The next four weeks still had pain at the end of a day and if I sat in a chair with no arm or neck support.

I had my surgery privately, my surgeon was Mr William Harcourt, at the Winfield Hospital Gloucester England

Have you tried physio, it worked to help the symptoms for me although was not a long term solution.

Good luck let me know how you are doing or if you need more information. The hospital has a web site with the surgeon on it.

HI Purpleskimp thanks for quick reply. i have tried physio but it increased my pains. please give me that website and tell me which tests were helpful in diagnosis of your problem because my MRI, CT SCAN, EEG, EMG all were normal only x-ray shows the extra ribs n thats why the neuro pysicians here are not believing my pain. how much your surgery costs? now i m planning to come there for proper solution. thanks again n take care dont give stress to your hands. ok bye

Hi Aarti I reply quick because I know how difficult it is to find any information or get any proper help or anyone who truly understands the pain. The condition is rare and I made a vow that if I had the surgery and came out ok I would help others. The risks of surgery are high and complications too but I got to the stage where the risks were worth taking.

The web site is www.winfieldhospital.co.uk The surgery cost was £1,600 this did not include the stay in hospital, I don't know the cost of that as my insurance covered it. I was due to stay in overnight only but recovered well so came home later the same evening. Surgery was about 3 hrs long. The consultations with the consultant ranged from £80 - £100. I don't know the costs of the tests as the insurance covered those as well.

I had nerve conductive tests that showed there was compression on the nerves from the neck and muscle wastage in the left arm. The consultant did various tests involving my arm and this showed weakness. He then sent me for an MRI, this showed compression of my aorta on the left side. I then had an xray that showed the rib. He said it was as clear a case of Theocratic Outlet Syndrome TOS from a Cervical rib that he had ever seen. My consultant was not Neuro he was an orthopaedic surgeon, I did ask him if I should see Neuro as this is what I had read but he said not, and that he understood and had performed the surgery. I trusted him and it has proved for me to be good.

If you need anything else just let me know,.

Good luck

Hi Purpleskimp thanks a lot for information n understanding my situation.i m sorry for late reply. its not my mistake your reply was pending for approval by this forum n its visible to me just today. i will go through this site n try to contact. i m in tension because my all reports are normal except x-ray. i hope this doctor will understand my problem. i will be in touch with u. thanks again. take care.

Hi Purpleskimp, sorry for disturbing you again. I visited to the winfield hospitals website and searched your surgeon but the results are showing " NO RECORD". I mailed to the hospital about it but they in reply they gave only hospital information. If possible please help me in this regard. How are you now? Are you able to do all work finely? bye take care

Hi AARTI try doing a search for Mr William Gerard Vaughan Harcourt Gloucester, this should bring up more information on him. If not if you send me your email address I will try and get his number for you and email it. I am reluctant to put it on this site.

I am doing well thanks, the scar is healing well, just need to remember to be careful.

Take care

Hi Purpleskimp thanks for information. I will search him with it. since last night my condition is worst. i am not able to sleep whole night. i wiil keep u inform about me. thanks take care

Hi Purpleskimp with your information i got the phone no. of Mr. Harcourt. now i can contact him. Please do one favor for me; send me your ISD code so i can contact him. Tell me about his nature. Thanks infinitely for your help i will never forget it. Take Care