[Surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome]

We present three cases with longstanding true neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. All patients had aching pain in the shoulder, arm and ulnar border of the hand. On examination, we found atrophy of the hand muscles. Electromyography revealed signs of compromised function of the inferior trunk of the brachial plexus. At surgery, we found and severed a fibrous band that compressed the inferior trunk. Postoperatively, the pain subsided and fine hand movements improved. One patient had no cervical rib, however, in the two other cases we found rudimentary cervical ribs. Magnetic resonance imaging was normal in all cases.