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| (MRI) of the brachial plexus, using 3-D reconstruction or neurography, can often be helpful in determining localized strictures or deviations of the normal course of the nerves in objectively substantiating abnormalities that point at TOS. Doppler ultrasound, comparing flow with the arm extended and flow with the arm to the side, can also be helpful. Electrodiagnostics are not as helpful, but they rule out other potential causes. I have found thermography to be a very sensitive indicator of abnormal peripheral nerve sensory function/irritation and that it objectively substantiates abnormalities much more frequently than any other imaging modality. |
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| In
my own series of over fifteen hundred patients
with this disorder, there has been a 14:1 female-to-male
ratio. In most other series, this ratio varies
from 3:1 to 7:1. This disorder has a clear-cut
and, as yet, unexplained predilection for women,which
has been variously assumed to be due to work choice,
poor posture, large breast size, and a penchant
for complaining. None of these, in fact, are entirely
convincing, although I should note that women with
large breasts and TOS do report a moderate decrease
in symptoms following breast reduction. |
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