Jack’s amazing pectus carinatum treatment results in Kingston

Jack’s condition was noticed at an early age by his mum who mentioned it to his doctor when he was 8 years old. They took X-rays and they told Jacks mum that everything looked structurally sound and was therefore just a cosmetic issue but if it was something that bothered him after he turned 18 they could do an operation. Jack’s mum was never told what it was causing his chest to protrude.

Over the next couple of years Jack’s condition got progressively worse to the extent that the bone was very visibly sticking out of his T -shirt. Louise, Jack’s mum was concerned and did some research and found that the most likely reason for it was that it was a condition called pectus carinatum.

Pectus carinatum is a chest wall deformity characterised by an outward protrusion of the sternum and ribs. It’s also known as “pigeon chest” because the chest may resemble the shape of a pigeon’s breast. It’s usually a congenital condition, meaning it’s present at birth, and it can become more noticeable during adolescence as the chest develops.

Whilst searching the internet, Louise discovered that other treatment options using a bracing system were available instead of surgery. The information they discovered was a huge relief to them as it meant it could be treated immediately. Louise says: “It meant Jack wouldn’t have to deal with years of feeling embarrassed about it especially as he was a keen swimmer, swimming twice a week for a club.

Most importantly, he wouldn’t have to have surgery to correct it or wait to be an adult to make that decision. We didn’t want Jack to have to go through all that so when we found LOC we booked a free initial virtual consultation. This call was really important for us as it confirmed what we believed was the reason for Jack’s chest looking the way it did. We felt it would be better to treat Jack before he started secondary school as we knew it wouldn’t be easy and we didn’t want it interfering with his studies or making him feel different in a new school. Jack beginning treatment in year 6 in a school he is familiar with was the right choice for him, as he has good friends around him that he could be open with about the treatment.”

Jack was assessed by Connor Mumford, one of LOC’s pectus specialists, on the 27th of July and a scan was taken of his chest. Apart from his Pectus Carinatum, Jack also had flared ribs. Louise recalls: “Connor was great, very informative and very reassuring – ‘yes, we can sort this out’.

Louise comments: “Jack really struggled with wearing the brace at the beginning. The first week he only manged just a few hours, I worried he wouldn’t be able to cope with it and wearing overnight felt impossible.

Then during the next 4 weeks he was wearing it 12-14 hours a day and we were really happy that Jack had managed to get to this stage. We had another virtual meeting with Connor, this was his second review 5 weeks in, and he said: “Good work Jack, but if you can wear it at night as well that’s when you will see a significant difference.” Jack was brilliant and took Connor’s comment onboard and that night he wore the brace overnight and he has never looked back, wearing the brace all the time, only taking it off for swimming and showering. His commitment has been amazing.”

It is worth mentioning here that swimming is a great way to exercise when undergoing treatment for a pectus deformity, as it helps to stretch the chest and increase its flexibility. Also, if doing backstroke or front crawl, this encourages the patient to take deep breaths, which promote chest wall correction.

To monitor the progress of the treatment, scans were taken at a review appointment on 26 October, and these revealed that 90% correction had been achieved in just under two months. A final word from Louise: “Not surprisingly, we are over the moon with the results to date, a massive improvement and so quickly; the scans tell the full story.”

As Jack is still young and therefore skeletally immature, once 100% correction has been achieved, bracing will continue but in far more of a maintenance phase with reduced wear time of the braces.

If you or your child is concerned about their chest shape, please get in touch to book your free virtual pectus appointment today.