Outcome of Surgical Treatment for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
BACKGROUND
Many publications report outcomes of surgical treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS); however, high-quality reviews and meta-analyses are lacking. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes and compares the outcomes and major complications of the surgical procedures for the 3 types of TOS: arterial, venous, and neurogenic.


METHODS
MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for papers published between January 1980 and February 2015, using the keywords thoracic outlet syndrome, and treatment and surgical. Articles were eligible for inclusion if the following criteria were met: studies describing outcomes of surgery for TOS, published in English, human studies, and available full-text. The exclusion criteria were case-series and case reports (n < 5), reviews, abstracts, and studies of endoscopic-assisted or robotic endoscopic-assisted transaxillary first rib resection.


RESULTS
A total of 12 papers met our inclusion criteria and were finally included in this systematic review. All included articles showed improvement of complaints after surgical treatment. In our meta-analysis, improvement to Derkash's classification category excellent/good was achieved in 90% of the arterial and venous TOS groups. Preoperative and postoperative Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand scores show improvement of 28.3 points after operative treatment of neurogenic TOS.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, surgical treatment of TOS seems to be beneficial in most patients and is relatively safe. The largest challenge remains the diagnosis of TOS, especially neurogenic TOS, because standardized diagnostic criteria are lacking. Future studies should focus on the diagnostic work-up of TOS.
Department of Vascular Surgery, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
Jesse
J
Peek
Department of Vascular Surgery, Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
Cornelis G
CG
Vos
Department of Vascular Surgery, Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
Çağdaş
Ç
Ünlü
Department of Vascular Surgery, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
Henricus D W M
HDWM
van de Pavoordt
Department of Vascular Surgery, Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep, Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
Peter J
PJ
van den Akker
Department of Vascular Surgery, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.vries@antoniusziekenhuis.nl.
Jean-Paul P M
JPM
de Vries
D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012307:Risk Factors; D013901:Thoracic Outlet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*