Review Detail

We took Sam to Dr. Garcia in Cincinnati, although we live in the Louisville, KY area. Our research made us believe that Dr. Garcia and the experienced team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital were the best choice for our son. Sam's heart ultra sound confirmed that his Pectus Excavatum was compressing and displacing his heart. His pulmonary function was also being affected. These test results helped us realize why he had gradually lost interest in playing tennis! He was out of breath and energy!
The thought of a stranger placing bars in your child's chest wall is something that will keep you up at night. As the mom of a kid who needed this procedure...to change his life for the better (or in his words, "to fix my chest forever"), I strongly recommend you do your research: read up on Pectus Excavatum, Nuss vs Ravitch, surgeon experience, post-operative pain management, nurses who are caring for your child post-operatively have experience in this area? --and don't ignore the most important thing...your instincts when you meet with these specialists! For us, Dr. Garcia's ability to immediately make a connection with Sam was impressive. Plus the fact that we encountered pure professionalism, and sincere caring from every person with whom we came into contact at Cincinnati Children's Hospital! Sam is now 90+days post-op, and is doing very well. The first 2 weeks were rough -- set your expectations for that. This is a major recovery and it takes some time to feel better. But at about the 2 week mark, Sam saw a big difference --- just like Dr. Garcia predicted. Our experience with Dr. Garcia and the entire PEX team at CCHMC has been wonderful. If you have PEX, I strongly recommend researching this team of experts and meeting him/them personally before making your final decision about where to go. Experience, expertise and compassion matter!