Ms. Mien, a 48-year-old woman, experienced numbness in her right fingers, a tired arm, and occasional cold right hand. After visiting the doctor, she was diagnosed with a rare thoracic outlet syndrome. This syndrome occurs when blood vessels or nerves running from the upper body to the arms are compressed by surrounding structures, leading to various symptoms such as swelling, reduced blood flow, tingling, muscle weakness, pain, and numbness.
Dr. Phan Vu Hong Hai explained that the thoracic outlet is a narrow space between the neck and shoulders, formed by the upper ribs below the collarbone. The syndrome can be divided into three types: neurogenic TOS, venous TOS, and arterial TOS. In Ms. Mien’s case, she had a combination of these mechanisms, with severe stenosis of the right subclavian artery root and veins.
For treatment, Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung performed a surgical procedure to widen the thoracic outlet and relieve the compression of the blood vessels and nerves. After the surgery
