Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Treatment and Long-term Experience from the Surgical Department

Overview

A thoracic outlet syndrome is not a very frequent syndrome affecting especially younger patients, predominantly women. Its symptomatology is caused by compression of a nervous and vascular plexus in a physiological isthmus in an upper thoracic aperture. The symptoms are divided to neurological and vascular ones. The treatment should always be conservative incl. rehabilitation unless the acute vascular incidence occurs, which is the indication for a surgical intervention. Authors describe in the paper their experience with diagnostics, treatment and its results at the surgical department which deals with the issue for a long time.

Key words:
compression of a nervous and vascular plexus, neurological symptoms, vascular symptoms, diagnostics of TOS, conservative treatment, surgical treatment.