Pectus excavatum in a child

[Miracle29]

Hi everyone. My child noticed a dent in his chest during lockdown and we put it down to him having a growth spurt and been quite slim but after lockdown we decided to get ot checked and the doctor diagnosed with pectus excavatum. He didn't give alot of information bit has referred to hospital just to check how far it goes in. I have read this can make problems later on in life due to it pushing on heart/lungs. He's very self conscious of it. Has anyone else had this problem or know anything about it? What do you think will happen next? He does get out of breath sometimes but the doctor didn't seem too concerned at the moment but didn't give much info I've had to go off google with it gives a few scary stories. Thanks

My dh has this. Has never caused him any problems. In fact didn’t even know it had a name until recently as it’s never been officially diagnosed. Only time it’s ever been mentioned is when he has had private medicals.

My DS has this. It has never caused any problems and is not visible now - although still there. It's only in severe cases it can cause issues.

How old is your child? We noticed DS’s when he was a couple of days old so if it has taken so long to notice, it may be something you don’t need to worry about.

In the vast majority of cases, PE doesn’t cause any problems. DS’s is very pronounced so he always used a rash /Uv protection shirt when swimming.

He became very self conscious of it in adolescence and we explored if there was something we can do about it but to be honest, it wasn’t worth it. Having a metal plate over the sternum to disguise the hole would have left a massive scar on his chest and would take more than a year to heal. The bell method was also a no go (far too much involvement for little or no results) so I would say these solutions and surgery should be left for the very few who are really experiencing physiological problems rather than to improve the aesthetics of it.

At the end, what worked best for DS was climbing/bouldering, the muscles he developed on his chest have disguised most of it.

I do think that DS’s PE is more noticeable because he has always been very slim (thin and long as an spaghetti) but I only noticed my father also has it a few years ago, as although he was not overweight, being not in the slim side hid it too.

Thankyou for your replies I didn't realise it was so common I wasn't expecting any replies.
My ds is 13 and he is also slim and tall. I never noticed this as a baby I even looked back at his pictures growing up thinking I was a bad mum and never noticed but he certainly didn't have it then or it just wasn't as bad. I only took him to see a doctor when I read up on it and saw the cases where surgery was needed and problems were caused. The doctor wasn't concerned about it he did say it was very noticeable but shouldn't cause any problems bit referred him anyway just to double check it wasn't causing any issues. He is self conscious of it and covers it alot but I'm glad others havnt had no problems with it. I really don't want him to go down the surgery route.

Hi op my eldest ds had P.E. & it became much more apparent during puberty when he shot up. Not only was he self conscious about it but it also meant he got puffed out when playing football. His was moderate to severe when he saw the constant initially & severe when he chose to have a nuss bar at 16, straight after his GCSE’s. Yes the operation was painful but it has made a huge positive impact on his life & his heart & lungs now have enough room to do their job properly. His bar has since been removed, he has had no regression & he is an extremely fit, sporty young man.

@badgerstmary I'm glad your son is thriving from having the bar. When I saw the doctor he said he didn't think anything will be done about he did some obs like heart rate ect which was normal but my ds did say he sometimes gets out of breath quick so I have a phone consultation tomorrow finally to go through a few things with a specialist and see if they will do further checks. He's very self conscious about it and it's very noticeable and I don't want it to cause problems in the future so I guess I'll have to wait and see whether they will do further checks woth his lungs and heart.

Op at least your son is being seen about his chest. As he continues to grow it may well deepen & he may become more breathless. My ds has so much more body confidence now & that was instant as soon as the bar was inserted. Feel free to pm me for a chat. I know what you are going through. Xx

My dh has this. He’s quite self conscious about it and was considering the bar operation for a while as a young adult. His seems to be just cosmetic though.

@badgerstmary thankyou x

@paperyfish we have been told if all his scans ect (if they decide to do them) cone back ok ot will then be classed as cosmetic and may be waiting a long time for the operation if they will do it of not it will have to be private but there's no way I could afford that.

My ds is very tall and my doctor has put his breathless down to his height ect I'm not sure why. I pushed it and said I just want it checking to make sure it's not causing issues because of it is then something needs to be done because I don't want it getting worse.

Breathless due to height op? I’ve never heard of this before.

Exactly what I thought too which is why I wanted him seen with hospitals they could do more checks. My ds tried to tell the doctor that when he has pe at school he gets out of breath faster than the other students he basically said it was normal when doing activities which yes it is but not of he's getting out of breath so easily surley. Some days he's fine walking to and from school other days he has ro have a little sit down. He has said he also gets a few chest pains here and there which I did mention to the doctor but he really didn't seem concerned so I'll be happy if and when ds can be seen and checked at the hospital so they can see if it will cause problems or not