Current guestbook entries

Your Name	Julie Leff
Where are you from	Wisconsin, USA
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments	I'm a 43 year old woman with a severe pectus excavacum (has surgery when I was 13 - apparently didn't work). Beginning to have tightening and chest pain - drs. tell me something is pshing on the right ventricle on my heart . . . Looking for a doctor in my area.
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?	No
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?	It is beginning to.
What do you think of this website?	Very informative

Your Name	adrian andrews
Where are you from	sussex,england
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments	could i get any info of where i can get a cosmatic procedure where they inject a substance into the cavity rather than an implant,also weather its a good idea to look into getting the nuss op done on my son.
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?	Yes and has done since i was about 13 years old,taking my top off in public being the main concern,Now my 9 year old son has the same and im thinking weather it would be good idea for him to have surgery so he dosent have to go through the same.
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?	That i cant be sure of as ive always been reasonably fit but would i have more endurence whithout it?Also i suffer from poorish curculation to hands and feet and they get cold easerly,also lynthodema to hands and feet which causes more distress,but has never been linked is this a possibility.
What do you think of this website?	very informative

Your Name	Michaela
Where are you from	Bristol
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments	My 12 and a half year old daughter has just been diagnosed with pectus excavatum. It was never noticed by myself or any health visitors when she was younger although looking back on photos now you can see some slight indication. Over the last 6 months it has changed dramatically so I took her to the doctors/hospital immediately. She has been diagnosed with a severe condition which needs surgery within the next few months.
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?	My daughter at first, was not aware of her 'deformity'. We assumed that because she has a very slim build it was just her shape. It wasn't until she expressed concerns to me that I took any action. She explained that when she went swimming with her friends - she felt very concious of her shape and wouldn't get out of the water if anyone of her friends were around.
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?
What do you think of this website?	It's great to be able to email families with the same condition & to see how it affects them too ?

Your Name	Adam
Where are you from	Walsall, England
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?	Of course. My friends used to laugh at it but I suppose we all got used to it. My doctor was worse than useless, he didn't have a clue. So I grew up just thinking that was how my chest was, there wasn't a name for it, at least according to my doc. Has anyone had any luck getting surgury in the UK? I'm decided whter or not to look in to it.
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?
What do you think of this website?	Very helpful, at least now I know i'm not a freak!

Your Name	Denis Deady
Where are you from	Ireland
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments	Hi I am a 24 year old university student studying is Scotland at the moment. I have Pectus excavatum and have the opportunity to undergo modified Ravitch procedure in Edinburgh. However, as with previous Thoracic specialists i have seen, in Edinburgh they also think pectus excavatum is merely a cosmetic problem with no physical impairments (i.e. lack of stamina). This worries me a little, I would rather have the operation performed by a surgical team that knew enough about the condition to know that fatigue and lack of stamina, when trying to do physical activites like competitive sport is a real problem. The lack of knowledge in the area is not very encouraging for someone about to undergo a serious operation. Neither is the dismissive attutude that an operation cannot lead to physical improvements. For those reasons I would be very grateful for any information anyone may have on a UK surgical team that understands and wants to help people with pectus deformity. Thank you for your time. Denis
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?	It used to affect me a lot more when i was younger, up til about the age of maybe 21 or so. Then i just couldn't be bothered trying to hide it or worry about it anymore, and would remove my shirt on a hot day etc as much as anyone else. I thought to myself it can be someone else's problem from now on not mine. And this is clearly the case from the reactions on some people's faces when they see it. At some level i'm sure it does still affect me Psychologically, but not as much as it once did. When i was younger going to the beach was a stress, as was trying to keep it hidden from boys in your class before football practice etc, not easy especially the amount of thought that goes into keeping it hidden, if yuor changing in the dressing room full of your peers. I'm sure people with pectus excavatum know what i'm talking about. Although there are much worse things you can have as a youngster it cartainly doesn't make life any easier thats for sure.
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?	It affects me physically. I can't play competitive sports at all. This is despite spending the last 12 months training either by myself or with the University football team, which totals about 4 to 8 hours a week of pretty serious training. Despite this the times I have played in a competitive 11 a side football game i have been totally beyond exhausted, having to do short rapid breathing literally to stop myself from collapsing. On certain occasions opposition players thought i was having some sort of "convulsion" or a "fit". I no longer try and play in these 11 a side games for my own health, as i serioulsy think what i was doing was dangerous for my health. But by traing for so hard for so long i now know beyond any shadow of a doubt that pectus excavatum does lead to physical stamina impairment, and that its not just "all in my head" as i have been advised by some family members and any doctor or surgeon I have thus far seen. I can just about manage to take part in five a side games with guys a lot older than me who wouldn't be the fittest. But the problem isn't really how long you last, with pectus you are out of breath within minutes if you haven't had sufficient time to get ur breath back (which takes a lot longer than normal). So if your playing in a match that lasts 90 minutes its not like you can go out and give it ur best for 20 minutes or a half an hour or so because your affected straight away! Infact the longer a game goes on and the more tired everyone becomes, and, as a result, the slower the pace of the game becomes, it can actually get easier for someone with pectus excavatum. Not much though, by that stage you're a physical wreck anyway. The reason people are skeptical about whether pectus affects you physically is because I can run fine, and superficially i dont look any different, and you can mess around with your friends playing football etc. I am able to train with the university team without it being too evident, everyone just thinks i'm not fit or that i'm just not as committed as everyone else when they see me breathing through my backside. The thing is i'm busting a gut just to be at two-thirds of the level everyone else is at. When it comes to a competitive game though forget about it, i dont have a chance. By the way, I also get kind of dizzy or slightly disorienated when i try and play competitively, i thought it may be a lack of oxygen to the brain, i wonder does any one else suffer from this?
What do you think of this website?	very good

Your Name	Gregory D. Watts
Where are you from	USA
Your E-Mail	[email protected]
Your Web Site URL	http://
Comments	Hi. My 1 year old son was dx today. We thought he had an elarged heart. We were very relieved to find out it was this. Of course this is also going to something hard for him to accept. I would like any parent or someone who has this to please email me so I can better help my son accept this. my email is [email protected] Thanks
Does your pectus deformity affect you psychologically?
Does your pectus deformity affect you physically?
What do you think of this website?

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