Tristan finally got his Surgery Appointment!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all well, happy and pain free. My baby finally went to visit the Reconstruction Surgeon to mend his Pectus Ecavatum. Well we really wanted to go for the Nuss Procedure but the Surgeon told us the side effects and we have definitely changed our mind. He told us that the metal bar that they surgically insert can actually graze the heart. Well that freaked me out straight away. He also said that it can cause on going pain for years later. Because this is a cosmetic surgery and Tristan doesn't need it for health reasons, I just don't want him to be in pain. So we have decided to take option number two: Open surgery is more traditional.

* In this method, the surgeon makes an incision (cut) across the front part of the chest.
* The surgeon removes the deformed cartilage and leaves the rib lining in place. This will allow the cartilage to grow back correctly.
* The surgeon makes a cut in the breastbone and moves it aside. The surgeon may use a rib or a metal strut (support piece) to hold the breastbone in this normal position until it heals. Healing will take 3 to 6 months.
* The surgeon may place a chest tube to drain fluids that build up in the area.
* Metal struts will be removed in 6 months through a small cut in the skin under the arm. This procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis.

The Surgeon told us that this was definitely the more evasive way to go, but he will not have a foreign object in his body that may dislodge if he had a hard enough bump. He will be in hospital for up to 7 days.

Of course I am already so worried and so nervous and wish he didn't have to go through this at all. But Tristan wants to do this and so I have to be supportive and keep him as healthy as I can before the surgery date.

The next step is to get his heart looked at and then back to the Surgeon to let him know what path we are going to take. I will let you know how it goes.

Love Rowena

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