Chest deformed

LegacyUser

Right, so I have this condition - basically my chest sticks out. I think its called 'pectus coronatum' or something along the lines of that. Basically the right side of my chest sticks out further than the left. It's almost as if my chest is twisted towards the left.

I know you can have surgery to get it 'fixed' but I hear it comes under cosmetic reasons so it won't be covered by insurance.

What I'm asking is, has anyone got it done? Is it expensive and does it leave a big scar? I'm sick of people touching my chest going "what's this?OMG its your chest". It leaves me quite insecure (I'm a guy btw, early 20s).

I know I shouldn't let it bother me but it does.

Karmafaerie

How much does it stick out?
I don't have the issue myself, but someting similar.
I tore my rotator cuff when I was about 13, and by shoulder healed awkwardly.
The muscles around my chest developed differently.
While I feel no ill effects from it, my right shoulder and arm are much stronger, while the chest is less developed.
My left side is normally proportioned so to speak.

I'm an athletic person, and am fairly lean and muscular.
So it's very noticable that the left side of my chest is very defined, while the right side, not so much.

It used to really bother me, but to be honest, I've gotten over it.
I realised that for the most part, I was the only one who cared or noticed really.

amazingemmet

I have a friend who says breathing pullovers fixed his. breathing pullovers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or3jcLJdqQ8 might be worth trying before surgery.

LegacyUser

Hi OP

I have the same thing in reverse. My sternum is curved inwards so that i appear to have a concave chest. Same as yourself - male, 20s.

I'll be honest I used to be very embarrassed about it. It seemed to get more pronounced as I grew and filled out. I am still embarrassed about it but when I'm on holidays abroad on a beach I'm like "fúck it nobody knows me." And when playing sports or heading swimming with the lads at home they all know about it and take no notice.

I had backpain and possible heart murmur so had to see a consultant to rule out chest having anything to do with it. He did say he could fix it and that it is covered by medical insurance as a "chest wall reconstruction". I imagine yours would be the same but that was a few years ago. I intended getting it fixed after I finished college (mainly due to the recovery time involved and me entering final year) but I never bothered. That was 3 years ago.

If it does bother you a lot, get to your GP and ask for a referral to a consultant for better info. The consultant was very reassuring and had photos of the procedure and a "before" and "after", recovery time lines, etc.

Sir Ophiuchus

Talk to your GP, because at the end of the day it's a medical issue.

Victor

amazingemmet wrote: »

I have a friend who says breathing pullovers fixed his. breathing pullovers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or3jcLJdqQ8 might be worth trying before surgery.

And after you talk to your doctor.

LegacyUser

OP here,

amazingemmet wrote: »

I have a friend who says breathing pullovers fixed his. breathing pullovers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or3jcLJdqQ8 might be worth trying before surgery.

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't see how breathing pullovers can fix it? Its the bone thats sticking out. Surely some form of surgery would be needed?

Samething wrote: »

Hi OP

I have the same thing in reverse. My sternum is curved inwards so that i appear to have a concave chest. Same as yourself - male, 20s.

I'll be honest I used to be very embarrassed about it. It seemed to get more pronounced as I grew and filled out. I am still embarrassed about it but when I'm on holidays abroad on a beach I'm like "fúck it nobody knows me." And when playing sports or heading swimming with the lads at home they all know about it and take no notice.

I had backpain and possible heart murmur so had to see a consultant to rule out chest having anything to do with it. He did say he could fix it and that it is covered by medical insurance as a "chest wall reconstruction". I imagine yours would be the same but that was a few years ago. I intended getting it fixed after I finished college (mainly due to the recovery time involved and me entering final year) but I never bothered. That was 3 years ago.

If it does bother you a lot, get to your GP and ask for a referral to a consultant for better info. The consultant was very reassuring and had photos of the procedure and a "before" and "after", recovery time lines, etc.

Just curious here, but what did the surgery involve? How long was the recovery time?Is there much scarring?


Thanks for all the advice so far.

LegacyUser

In my case the consultant told me that he would remove my ribs from my sternum, straighten the sternum and put a metal bar behind it to keep it in place. He joked I'd be one of those people always setting of the alarm at airport security! I'd have to go back after 6 months and have the bar removed.

First the first op Id be laid up for 3-4 weeks and 2 weeks of that I would have been fairly dosed up in hospital. Having the bar removed afterwards was simple enough he said and Id be in and out of hospital fairly quickly. He said the scar wouldn't be big but there would be one there (scars are supposed to be cool anyway!).

He also said there would be no playing sport for the 6 months between first and second op due to danger of displacing the metal bar.

The recovery time that prevented me from getting it done back then was because I would have missed the first couple of months of my final year of university so couldn't take the chance. Oh and he said in his experience that some people are in no pain afterwards and some are so he said I could have been lucky in that regard.

Jim

I have the same as one poster here, a depressed sternum. Personally I have no problem with it, its much more common than people think. My mother investigated getting surgery to correct it when I was a kid and tbh I'm really glad she didn't go ahead with it. From what I've read its a very long and complicated procedure with a lot of pain involved.

In my case its really a non issue. When people see it they do tend to draw attention to it, and have even had friends point it out at parties "Look at my mates weird chest!" etc. This doesn't really bother me though (and I'm not a very secure or confident person in general). I never noticed I was different until I was about 13 and went swimming with school and some of the lads were "wtf is that!". With regards to intimacy there's only ever been one girl who it freaked out so much that she ran out of the room, which I thought was pretty funny at the time. I was in my mid teens at the time and have never had any issue with it since. Questions are always asked when women see it first but after a quick explanation its a non issue.

As I said I'm not a particularly secure or confident person myself but for some reason I've never had an issue with this "deformity" and its never had a negative impact in my life from what I can see. Its actually quite handy, I use it quite often to balance beer on when I'm slouching in a chair :pac:

I hope this has been helpful, and personally I would advise you not to get the surgery, but if you think its is having a serious negative impact on your life and you strongly want to be rid of it then go for it. Just think very carefully about the implications of the surgery before you do anything.