Surgery for Pectus Excavatum

There are two major surgeries for fixing Pectus Excavatum.

The Nuss Procedure & the Ravitch procedure.

The Nuss Procedure involves two small incisions in the side of the chest in which a concave stainless steel bar is inserted into the chest and is flipped to pop the sternum out.

The bar is secured with sutures that dissolve within six months. Sometimes the bar may be displaced, this is more common for older children with more ossified bones, this may require an additional surgery.

Postoperative pain can be quite severe requiring pain management such as epidural anaesthetics.  The rehabilitation process is quite lengthy and physical activity should be limited for several weeks  with full avoidance of contact sports.

The Ravitch procedure is generally used to treat pectus carinatum however can be used for pectus excavatum as well. The Ravitch procedure involves the removal of cartilage that causes the deformity & the placement of a small bar to hold it in the desired position.

 Both these surgeries do not have a 100% Success rate & they can be very expensive depending on your country health insurance policies.

If you only have a cosmetic case of pectus without any major health concerns I recommend using exercise & stretching to treat Pectus Excavatum to avoid the hardships of surgery.

We can 'fix' our condition through exercise. By fix I do not mean making your chest completely flat. I am referring to the development of lean muscle primarily in the inner chest, correction of posture, tightening of rib flare &  stretching of the chest to drastically reduce the visual extent of the condition, masking the case of Pectus Excavatum through exercise (See my transformation below).

Eventually you should be so confident and happy with your body then you are no longer negatively affected by pectus. This is what I call fixing Pectus.

This pursuit of overcoming pectus through exercise is going to teach you a lot. It will teach you to be happy with yourself which is of fundamental importance. It will teach you how to eat healthy and nutritious diet It will force you to exercise frequently and make you a healthier, fitter & happier person. It will teach you discipline & commitment which are two very important qualities any successful individual must possess.

If you want to start following a program specifically designed to make your pectus less noticeable & receive coaching from Riley Byrne (the worlds only Pectus Excavatum specialised Personal Trainer) then go to www.fixpectus.com/ to apply.