Review Detail

Dr. J and all of the staff at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix are outstanding. After spending at least 40 hours researching the condition and surgeons, I phoned Kelly Myers, the pectus coordinator, who is so knowledgeable, helpful and dedicated to her work that I knew I had found the right place to have surgery.

While my Haller index was only 3.27, I had compression of the right side of my heart reducing capacity to 80 percent of normal. For years I had felt a lack of energy which seemed to get much worse in the past nine months. Most days I had to lie down in the afternoon due to being tired. In the morning, even after being in bed for eight hours, I would wake still tired.

I travelled to Phoenix alone and had surgery on November 29 and three bars were installed. Rather than the epidural I opted for the On-Q pain pump. Had a full meal the day of surgery and walked inside the hospital that evening. The following day I went outside for a walk in the hospital garden. On a scale of 0 to 10, my pain level never really surpassed a 1. A little GI discomfort on December 1st but it only lasted a few hours. I was discharged on December 2nd, went to the hotel and then did some grocery shopping. Everything was so much easier than expected that I started to think of this as an odd little vacation.

Besides being a very dedicated and thoughtful person, Dr. J is an absolutely first-rate surgeon who has introduced innovations to the procedure which made her the stand alone choice for my surgery. Among improvements is the unique method of elevating the sternum before placing the bars which I attribute to reduced pain and a better outcome.

One month after surgery and I feel great. I sleep through the night and wake up refreshed. I have a desire to do things that a few months ago would have been passed up due to lack of energy. Further, my chest looks good and with some conditioning I plan to visit the beach this summer without a shirt.