We experienced an extremely rare case of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) caused by fatigue fracture of the first rib. Case: A 25-year-old male, semi-professional volleyball player, he complained of numbness and weakness of the left upper extremity. Eden-Test, Morley-Test, and Wright-Test were positive on the left. X-ray showed bilateral first rib fractures (non-union on the left side), which was likely caused by heavy muscle training. 3D-CT suggested that the dynamic movement of the pseudoarthrosis following the fatigue fracture was developing incomplete brachial plexus palsy.
We performed a surgical decompression by supraclavicular approach without clavicle osteotomy.
Compression of the brachial plexus by the dynamic movement of the non-union site was observed. We resected the rib apporoximately 3cm in total.
His symptoms had resolved completely after the operation, and he has no problems in playing volleyball.
Only a few cases of TOS due to the first rib fracture that has been treated surgically, have been reported. It usually involves the lower trunk of brachial plexus, as we presented. Roos approach and supraclavicular approach are known for TOS operation. Clavicle osteotomy is usually required in the latter approach; however, the procedure seemed invasive for top athletes. Therefore, we chose a supraclavicular approach without clavicle osteotomy in this case. Through this approach, we could obtain a sufficient surgical field to decompress the brachial plexus. In conclusion, we experienced a rare case of TOS caused by non-union after fatigue fracture of the first rib in a volleyball player. Surgical treatment led to complete resolution of the symptoms.
