Ten years of surgical treatment’s results for thoracic outlet syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: Thoracic outlet syndrome covers various disorders, which occur as a result of intermittent or persistent compression of the different elements that leave the chest to the arm and cause vascular, neurological or combined symptoms, which often have a surgical indication for their resolution.

Objective: Assess the results of ten years of experience in the surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome in patients operated on at "Dr. Agostinho Neto" General Teaching Hospital in Guantánamo.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in patients diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome in the Angiology and Vascular Surgery Service of "Dr. Agostinho Neto" General Teaching Hospital, Guantánamo , who underwent surgical treatment in the period 2009-2019. The following variables were evaluated: age, sex, diagnosed syndromes, surgical techniques, complications, and symptoms before and after surgery.

Results: The female sex predominated, mainly in the ages from 40 to 50. Pain was the predominant symptom, and the costo-clavicular syndrome turned out to be the most diagnosed one. The most used surgical technique was the disinsertion of the anterior scalene, followed by the resection of the first rib. Pleural and neural injury appeared as the most frequent complications. The clinical improvement of patients after surgical intervention was found in most cases.

Conclusions: It was demonstrated that surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome can be an effective alternative for patients suffering from this entity.