THORACIC OUTLET SYNDROME IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

Key words: Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), Surgical treatment, Children, Adolescents

TOS is considered a relatively rare clinical condition. In most of cases TOS affects young men and women in their third - fourth decade of life, without any sex prevalence. In children and adolescents it is currently considered an exceptional finding: in a recent literature review very few cases of TOS requiring surgical treatment have been reported in the paediatric age. However, over the last 3 years, 11 children were treated for TOS at the Vascular Unit of V. Buzzi Children’s Hospital, and this may indicate that the incidence of this clinical condition in this age group is higher than previously thought and that this condition often goes misdiagnosed.