Had Surgery To Remove Osteocondroma From Rib. Started Feeling Chills And Shaky Arm And Hand. What's Wrong?

Posted on Thu, 12 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 Answered on

Wed, 1 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : About 2 months ago I had surgery to remove an osteocondroma from my rib. My surgeon tried to remove it from the left side of my chest but was not able to get to it so he went in through the upper left side of my back instead. Since surgery I have been having episodes where I will all of the sudden get chills all over my body and my left arm and hand start shaking. As time has passed these episodes are more frequent.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
From your description it seems that there is an autonomic nerve disturbance or compression due to the surgery which is causing these symptoms.
Usually the swelling decreases with time and in case the symptoms are frequent then specific treatment like local steroid injections might be needed.
You need to consult a neurologist and get yourself investigated like MRI and nerve conduction studies to know the extent of damage the surgery has caused.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar