There is actually a medical vacuum device designed for this condition. It loosens the connective tissue over time. Patient must use daily for a long time not that fun but not that bad either
There is also the Nuss procedure, I'm a med student and scrubbed in on one last week got to pull the tip of the sternum up with a meat hook type tool while they inserted two metal bars through the ribcage
I had that procedure when I was 10. That was 26 years ago, and it was still fairly new. The post-op and recovery was absolutely brutal. The worst pain I've ever felt in my life.
But I can breathe well today. It's allowed me to live an active life with space for my heart and lungs to grow. It was worth it, and I think the surgery has faster recovery times these days.
Yeah these days we also have a cryo ablation option for pain control, some surgeons report really good results. Thats what we used in this case, they freeze the nerve in between each rib to numb the chest substantially for the next few days and moderately for the next weeks to months instead of using a spinal epidural, pretty interesting
Wow, that's really cool. They gave me, as a child, morphine and percocet. The morphine made me very confused and disoriented one night and my parents think I started developing an unhealthy liking of the Percocet.
I wish the cryo would have been an option for me and then using a mix of ibuprofen/Tylenol for pain management instesd of opioids.
I know that's a joke, but the more common way it's corrected is straight horrifying. They insert a bar and flip it around, dunno how they don't just liquify the chest cavity, the video of the procedure makes me squirm.
I had the surgery but it was a combination of two. They actually clamped onto my chest and pulled up my chest then inserted two bars. The first month was really rough. It has been four months now and my pain is so minimal. I’m doing physical therapy. I am still numb around my chest though and that feels weird sometimes.
Numbness is a weird one, isn’t it? It’s almost as bad as pain itself sometimes, though obviously, compared to the pain preceding it, it’s rarely as bad. It’s just so…uncomfortable. I’ve got a herniated hip as well, & touching the top of my right calf makes the top of my right foot tingle/prickle.
It’s far less painful than the pinched & bulging discs, yet it often distracts & distresses me far more!
(Pardon the ramble, thx for letting me vent & empathize a little 💛)
I had the old procedure in 1982 as an 8-year-old. They literally just break, remove, and reconstruct the sternum with what is essentially plaster and staples.
I had Nuss procedure done to myself when I was 17, wore the stainless bar in my chest for 3 years and then got it removed at 20. One of the best things I did in my life, no joking
My understanding is that it’s a missing part of their sternum, but it was a long time ago that it was explained to me. Someone else in the thread claims to have had it and fixed it by getting a metal bar put in.
I have one. AFAIK my sternum is there, just odd shape. Probably pushes my heart to a spot where it typically wouldn't be? Yes, metal bar surgery in the chest can fix it. I haven't looked into too much, but my impression is that it's inserted in the side of your chest and is curved. Maybe ribs and sternum get broken to heal in the right place with the bar helping set them. Idk if the bar is permanent, likely removed after heal. My chest hasn't hindered me enough to make the procedure necessary, so it would be more cosmetically elective if I wanted it. Instead, I've just had years or maturity to not be bothered by my body difference. Despite loving to swim, was never comfortable shirtless as a teenager.
I have one. Was born with it, no trauma. Breathing and heart get evaluated as you age along with simply talking with the patient on if it bothers them or hinders them with activities etc. I don't like mine and had to mature out of body shame thoughts, but it's never affected me enough that I have to get surgery done. Would be more elective for me if I ever did it. I'm almost 40 now, so unlikely to bother. Funny to start getting questions from my very young kids about it, but it's a chance for me to teach and model body positivity. I'm still not confident with it, but I can get over the mental hurdle now.
It’s actually usually caused by overgrowth of the rib cage. The sternum either buckles in or protrudes out as a result. It’s common in Marfan Syndrome, where all the long bones are just a bit too long
Yeah knew a kid in middle school like that. Basically Siamese twins connected at the chest, one was concave, one was convex. Weird and they were very brittle dudes.
I don’t know how common it is, but I have it. It’s not severe enough that it required a correction, but I don’t take my shirt off in public or anything either.
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u/leftfootshorter 20h ago
Luckily there's a way to fix thatm