Pectus Excavatum - Post Surgery (10 weeks!)
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Sorry for my breathy voice and super rushed video. There’s so much detail that I probably missed but here’s the run down! It’s been a journey but nothing you can’t handle! Everyone’s recovery is significantly different, but I hope if you watched this video that you feel more informed about pectus excavatum and whether surgery is the best decision for you.
Hospital
-surgery had no complications, doc did have to lift up sternum to make room for the 2 bars
-5 days total
-Started walking at 4am the next day after surgery
-Started throwing up on day 2 and 3 due to drugs in epidural
-Epidural for first 3 days
-Chest tube removed day 4
Week 1
-my mom took care of everything for me
-Medicine every 3 hours, even throughout the night
-Medicine included tramadol (narcotic), robaxin (muscle relaxer), gabapentine (nerve pain), high dose ibuprofen and tylonol, stool softener (for all that medicine!)
-Could only lay on my back, couldn’t get up by myself
-I couldn’t bring myself to do anything but watch tv
-Could barely bring myself to shower
-torso swollen, bruises, back aches
Week 2
-Some of the mental fog from meds was starting to wear off, feeling more alert
-Tried to start doing things around the house, caused a lot of back and shoulder pain
Week 3
-Feeling more like myself mentally
-Started weaning off some of the prescriptions
-Running errands with my mom outside the house
-1st post op dr. visit, everything checked out fine
Week 4-5
-Mom left
-Got really sick
-Fever 102
-Body aches for weeks
-No energy
-Set me back physically and mentally from healing
-Had to start back up with grad school
Week 5
-post op visit, found dent in right rib area, the pressure from the bars caused the cartilage to buckle inward, no functional problems
Week 6
-Still taking over the counter pain meds 3 times a day
-Lots of discomfort still
-2 grad classes at the same time
-First public outing, Miss Florida pageant
Week 7-8
-Subtle improvements
-Breathing still feels the same
-feels very tight where the bars are
-Still can’t feel large areas of skin around my chest
-Cleared to go swimming
-scar tissue formed around bars
Week 9
-Can rest on side but not sleep on it
Week 10
-Post op to check on dent everything is fine
-Rode a bike a few times
-I go back to work in 2 weeks!
-cleared to ease into exercise
-still no body weight upper body exercises or twisting
General notes about post surgery recovery and pectus
-expect to have scars and don’t expect the cosmetic results to be perfect
-bars come out after 3-4 years, they will open the side scars again to take them out
-total cost of all appointments, doctors visits, hospital stay, and surgery: ~$85k
-I’ve paid $4500 with insurance, not including the yearly visits I will have and the outpatient surgery to take the bars out
-I am happy to be closer to recovery than ever but there is so much healing and strengthening that still needs to be done and I will have to put in the work to really feel the difference
u are super charming, for real. im havin surgery today, thanks for being here with us.
You got this!! Hope everything goes really well!!
Thank you for sharing! I can never find women that also have this but I do and so does my dad thank you for sharing
I was going to write my own personal experience with pectus excavatum, but I just really needed to thank you for sharing your story, as just like you said, there aren't many women who have talked about their experience. I understand it's less frequent in females, but it's so scary researching and finding such little relatable information. I'm just curious to see how maybe our chest anatomy makes treatment different (or not), and how the intervention affects our appearance. Just thank you so much for sharing your story. Warm regards from Spain.
Thanks for sharing😊
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'm having the nuss surgery in November and it's so nice to hear how it went for other people. I'm sorry about your rib flare, hopefully they are able to fix it. Good luck with the rest of your recovery:)
Thank you so much!! Recovery has been a long process but at 5 months post op I’m finally able to start doing some upper body exercise like pushups! Good luck with your surgery! You got this!!
My son had the Nuss procedure in Washington DC on Oct 14 he was feeling totally fine and wanted to attend a Halloween party on October 31. At 6 weeks he was cleared to play Travel Baseball without any restrictions. He is a catcher and loves to dive headfirst while stealing bases. The first 2 weeks were very difficult. 2 days after coming home he had so much pain we called an ambulance ( missed pain meds while sleeping). The ambulance called a helicopter. They Check everything all ok. Must take the meds.
If you are still having trouble get a second opinion. Also request the medical records. So you can read exactly what went on during surgery.
Thank you for sharing. I will have mine operation 08.2024 (age 27, female). Hopefully it will help with my fatigue and tachycardia.
Maybe you can make an other video about how you are doing now in the next few months...?
This is the year I should be getting my bars out finally! I will definitely be making some more videos on my experience the past 3 years and how I feel when they come out!
I’m going for surgery in 2 weeks I’m scared thanks for sharing your journey
You’ve got this!!! 💪💪 just make sure you have help at home for at least a month or 2 and take really good care of yourself! An active recovery will set you up for success so you feel stronger faster :) feel free to ask me anything that might help!
Sara's Seeking.
This pieces feels like.
Seeking, searching and wandering.
please give us another update! considering having surgery for this and i would love to hear how you’re doing now :)
can we get an update video? i just had mine about 3 weeks ago and i just can’t bring myself to get out of bed by myself it freaks me out
Good to hear you’re doing well. Keep it up :)
Thanks you!! Means a lot 😊
Yay Sarah!❤️
Had the surgery pain is gone but the I can't sleep on my side other things are fine
I have the similar dent on right like you said
Who was your doctor and what age did you have the nuss done? I’m almost 21 feel like I need this sooner then later but I don’t have the most experienced surgeons for pectus in Canada :/
I had my surgery done at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville by Dr. Thomas who did a very good job. I would take the time to meet with multiple surgeons from different hospitals before you decide on one. I had my surgery done at age 26 so it is possible to be done later but if your symptoms are bad start talking to doctors now.
@@sarazengmusic thank you for the help!! I appreciate it
Inspiring🥳
Did the chest tube really hurt? And did they take it out with you awake?
Hi, I have a question about it, did you get taller after the operation?
How are you doing now?
I’m doing good thanks for asking! It’s definitely been a struggle, some days I’m fine and other days I have bad nerve pain that keeps me from exercising and sleeping well. Getting back into a very active lifestyle has been difficult but I keep trying because I know it will help me feel so much better when the bars come out! I have just over one year left until they finally come out :)
I'm sorry to hear about the struggles. Have there been symptom improvements? Heart Rates during rest/excercise, acid reflux/digestion, any other things that you had before.
@@fuzzy123 I haven’t been able to devote nearly as much time to my recovery as I wanted since surgery due to working all the time and pain management so I feel as though I am more out of shape than before. The bars themselves are what is causing the pain so I think once they come out I won’t have the pain that stops me from exercising now, my breathing won’t feel restricted anymore, and I‘ll be able to exercise without pain.
Hi i have just recently found out that i have this condition and I am just wondering how it’s going and if your chess is completely normal now; I hope you’re doing well!
Hi thanks for your comment! I am almost 2 years into having bars in my chest to correct my pectus. It hasn’t been easy to say the least but once they come out I have a good feeling that I will feel much better! I am happy with the appearance of my chest after surgery as well. I have a slight indent on my rib cage from surgery but overall very minimal scarring. I hope you find strength and positivity in your pectus journey too :)
Sara you're absolutely beautiful 😍😁👍🌹🙏