Hi, I Am A 34 Year Old Female. I Recently

Posted on Thu, 2 Jan 2020

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

Thu, 2 Jan 2020 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Hi,

I am a 34 year old female. I recently suffered a fall where I sustained a fracture to my zygomatic arch in 3 places

I am 4 weeks into my healing process and today I discovered that my right arm was swelling up and it’s getting progressively larger.

I am also feeling some pain in my neck & shoulder and tingling in my fingers.

I did some research and I read up on thoracic outlet syndrome and saw that these symptoms are related to this, and common in people who have sustained a fracture or injury.

My question is, should i wait to go to urgent care tomorrow morning or do I need to head to the ER?

I’m icing my arm and trying to take it easy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Answered by Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
You can consult tomorrow

Detailed Answer:
Hi
As per your description,it doesn't go in favour of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Trauma in the neck can cause Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.Zygomatic injury doesn't cause Thoracic Outlet syndrome.
Swelling of the upper limb can be due to Cellulitis, i.e.infection or Edema etc.Please keep the swollen limb in upright position.
X-ray of the neck will exclude some causes of Thoracic Outlet syndrome like Extra rib,Neck bone injury etc.
Please consult your doctor and proceed further.
Nothing to worry.
Hope I answered your query.If you have any questions,I will clarify further.
Wish you good health and speedy recovery
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj