Anyone have experience with Pectus Carinatum? (Pigeon Chest)

[jshouse]

Do any of you have it or have kids with it? Neither me or my wife have it, or anyone in our families, but both of my son's do. It's very slight on my 13yo, he don't care, but it's noticable on my 15yo.

HIs was very slight when he was 13, I don't even remember it but he says it was there, and then he got hit square on the sternum with a baseball and it immediately swelled up to the point that some moms on the team freaked out about it. It has been pretty noticable since then, to the point that he is very self conscious about it.

Long story short, we have been to chiropractors and the Pectus Clinic at Children's Dallas, CT scans, X-rays, all of it. They all say it's only cosmetic and we bought a $300 brace to help. It's supposed to be worn for 16-20hrs a day and trying to get a 15yo boy to wear that thing out of the house is impossible.

They have told us surgery is an option but it's expensive, not covered by insurance, and sounds scary.

He won't take his shirt off in front of anyone and walks around covering it up in different ways constantly. He's been working out a lot to try to "cover it up" with bigger pecs.

Does anyone have any other tactics to get rid of it?

I'm a simpleton, but it's just a buildup of cartilage, could it not be "shaved" down in a simple procedure?

[bullets13]

I’d never heard of this, but seeing pictures on the internet, I can see how a teen would be self-conscious about it

[MadHatter]

This guy has a pretty good outlook.
Your son may has probably already found this, but maybe not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLjTAJ_RKk

https://www.pectusclinic.com/treatments/vacuum-bell-therapy/

[bpa556]

Do any of you have it or have kids with it? Neither me or my wife have it, or anyone in our families, but both of my son's do. It's very slight on my 13yo, he don't care, but it's noticable on my 15yo.

HIs was very slight when he was 13, I don't even remember it but he says it was there, and then he got hit square on the sternum with a baseball and it immediately swelled up to the point that some moms on the team freaked out about it. It has been pretty noticable since then, to the point that he is very self conscious about it.

Long story short, we have been to chiropractors and the Pectus Clinic at Children's Dallas, CT scans, X-rays, all of it. They all say it's only cosmetic and we bought a $300 brace to help. It's supposed to be worn for 16-20hrs a day and trying to get a 15yo boy to wear that thing out of the house is impossible.

They have told us surgery is an option but it's expensive, not covered by insurance, and sounds scary.

He won't take his shirt off in front of anyone and walks around covering it up in different ways constantly. He's been working out a lot to try to "cover it up" with bigger pecs.

Does anyone have any other tactics to get rid of it?

I'm a simpleton, but it's just a buildup of cartilage, could it not be "shaved" down in a simple procedure?

I know several adult men who have it. They are well adjusted and have no problems pulling the ladies. Your kid will be fine without surgery. It’s not a big deal in adulthood. Kids are vain, dumb and can’t recognize what’s actually important in life (no offense, just look back on your teen years).

In summary, raise a good kid and his “chicken chest” will have exactly as much bearing on his life as he accepts.

[ThisLadyHunts]

Never heard of it but I’m in for understanding it better.

I wonder if any of the state’s not-for-profit/charitable children’s hospitals might be an option for free or reduced treatment. Shriner’s Children’s, Cooks Children’s, and Texas Children’s all come to mind. I’m sure there are others as well.

[jshouse]

This guy has a pretty good outlook.
Your son may has probably already found this, but maybe not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cLjTAJ_RKk

https://www.pectusclinic.com/treatments/vacuum-bell-therapy/

Thanks man, we've looked at most of the videos online and we have him stretching and lifting as much as we can.

[jshouse]

I know several adult men who have it. They are well adjusted and have no problems pulling the ladies. Your kid will be fine without surgery. It’s not a big deal in adulthood. Kids are vain, dumb and can’t recognize what’s actually important in life (no offense, just look back on your teen years).

In summary, raise a good kid and his “chicken chest” will have exactly as much bearing on his life as he accepts.

Yes sir I know, but it's tough to watch your kid shy away from swimming and having fun with friends because of it. And he's a stud of a kid, athlete, good looking, but he's missing out on good teen times and it's hard as a parent, moreso for my wife. He wears a hoodie or wind breaker pretty much every day because of it.

[jshouse]

Never heard of it but I’m in for understanding it better.

I wonder if any of the state’s not-for-profit/charitable children’s hospitals might be an option for free or reduced treatment. Shriner’s Children’s, Cooks Children’s, and Texas Children’s all come to mind. I’m sure there are others as well.

We went to Children's, I may look into the Shriners, that's a good idea.

[jshouse]

Bump for info

[MadHatter]

Bump for info

Get into Reddit & Quora if you haven't already.
Seems you're looking outside modern medicine, and you won't find that on Google or here.

[armadillophil]

Hey Jack, my son has it. I think he was about 13 when it started. We went to specialist in Dallas and had a custom brace made for 2k. He wore it for about 10 hours the last 2 years so I know what you mean about getting a kid to wear it. He is 15 now and has been a gym rat for about 15 months and has grown about 15 inches. You can still see it but as his chest got bigger and wider it seems to have pulled the chest wall out which has flattened it out. It still bothers him but it hopefully it keeps going down. I don't think you get a kid to wear the brace enough to make a difference Hopefully as he grows it will get better.

[7sdad]

I have Pectus Excavatum which is the opposite of what your son has, my breast bone grew in instead of out.

[bowhntrmatt]

I wonder if there is a brace that can be worn under clothing that is inconspicuous? Either that or talking to a cosmetic/plastic surgeon might give you more answers. Seems like a pretty big procedure.

[jshouse]

Hey Jack, my son has it. I think he was about 13 when it started. We went to specialist in Dallas and had a custom brace made for 2k. He wore it for about 10 hours the last 2 years so I know what you mean about getting a kid to wear it. He is 15 now and has been a gym rat for about 15 months and has grown about 15 inches. You can still see it but as his chest got bigger and wider it seems to have pulled the chest wall out which has flattened it out. It still bothers him but it hopefully it keeps going down. I don't think you get a kid to wear the brace enough to make a difference Hopefully as he grows it will get better.

Thanks, my son has a narrow chest so I'm hoping as he grows he will widen out and pull it apart a little.

[jshouse]

Get into Reddit & Quora if you haven't already.
Seems you're looking outside modern medicine, and you won't find that on Google or here.

Yeah just interested to see if anyone has luck with something outside of the brace or major surgery. Sounds like hitting the bench press may be the best option