Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski

I'm a 29 year old male that was operated on by Dr. J in December 2016. Dr. J and her staff were very informative and honest before the surgery and the Mayo Clinic was run very well. My surgery went fantastic and I have gotten fantastic results. I was extremely impressed with Dr. J's pain management, I never felt pain above a 5. The results are incredible and I only wish that I had met Dr. J sooner. I would recommend absolutely anyone to Dr. J for correction of pectus excavatum with the nuss procedure. I only hope that the results stay this way after I get the bars taken out.

***Also, Dr. J has a certain protocol for her Haler Index measurements that allowed me to be covered by insurance. Highly recommend working with Her team to see if insurance will cover you.

My son (13 years old) had a surgery for pectus excavatum with Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski at the Phoenix Children Hospital (PCH) the 12th of July 2017.
We are Italians and we came in Phoenix just to have Dr. Jaroszewski for our son's surgery. For us it was not an easy decision from a logistics and an economic point of view (in Italy we do not have any insurance coverage for the US), but I believe it was the best decision I ever made for my son.
When I realized that my son was suffering from pectus excavatum I started to do extensive research in patient forums and in scientific literature. The data I found led me to Dr. Jaroszewski at Phoenix's Mayo Clinic. In my opinion, Dr. Jaroszewski and her team are the world's principal exponents for Nuss technique. They have introduced many improvements to the technique originally proposed by Nuss and they continue to improve it. These improvements are able to guarantee better results, improved safety and lesser complications. I have studied several Dr. Jaroszewski webinars and video, and I have read many of her scientific publications. On this basis, I realized that there were some important details of the Dr Jaroszewski’s technique that are very important which I cannot do without: i) shorter bars; ii) multiple bars; iii) sternal elevation (very important to avoid cardiac injury!); iv) fiberwire ligation and v) polypharmacy pain control.
Moreover, I realized that Dr. Jaroszewski has an enormous experience (she performs a huge Nuss procedures per year), and her percentage of post-operative complications is really very low. In addition, about 30% of her pectus surgery are redo from patients that underwent the procedure by other surgeons included European one. With this knowledge in mind, it was very difficult for me to find a valid alternative close to home. I tried to hear from other surgeons but no one practiced a complete and efficient approach to Nuss surgery like Dr Jaroszewski or had valid alternatives. For these reasons we decided to came in Phoenix and I was absolutely sure that my son with Dr. Jaroszewski would be in the best hands possible.

I contacted Dr. Jaroszewski's office and the Mayo Clinic and took an appointment for July 2017. We met Dr. Jaroszewski on 10th July at Mayo Clinic for the first visit and it was a very intense experience. Dr. Jaroszewski is an exceptional person also on the human side, she is compassionate and sensible to understand our needs. At that time, we were obviously worried about the whole situation (surgery, complications, foreign country, language problems, etc.) but she immediately transfer us good vibrations in terms of competence, safety and experience. We immediately felt an emotional bond of empathy with her. She explained in detail how the surgery would take place, the expectations based on my child's initial condition and all possible complications, including her personal case histories of complications that are very low (i.e. zero cardiac injury during surgery).
Fortunately, my son had a symmetrical PE in the lower part of chest so she predicted that the operation would be relatively easy. The medical assistant of Dr Jaroszewski (Dr Primus) gave us precise directions on what to do before the surgery and finally on July 12th my son had the operation. The surgery went very well, my son had two bars, the operation lasted approximately 1.5 hours and everything went as expected. Dr Jaroszewski in the post-surgery meeting told us that she was very satisfied about the surgery and that she had not encountered any difficulties. She gave us some photos taken before and after the surgery in which it was well visible as sternum compression on pericardium was eliminated and how much new space was produced. Then all the postoperative period has gone fine. Pain was always under control. Dr. Jaroszewski after the surgery came 2 times (!) to visit my son at the PCH. During these visits she carefully checked my son, his therapy and his vital signs and told us that everything is going well. In fact, my son walked and ate regularly and after 2 days was discharged.
Another amazing thing of Dr. Jaroszewski is her incredible availability during the recovery. My son was discharged from the PCH on Saturday, July 15th. The same night we had the need to contact Dr. Jaroszewski for a fever rise. We called her office at Mayo and in less than 20 minutes, we had her precious indications by telephone (the problem was then easily solved in a few hours). Believe me this have no price.
At the postoperative visit (7 days after surgery) Dr Jaroszewski, after knowing that we would have been in Phoenix for other 3 weeks, invited us to came back in her office a couple of days before leaving to Italy for a further control. We appreciated so much this fact since it gave us greater serenity to face the long journey to home (6-7 hours by car to Los Angeles and the day after 12+1.5 hours of plane to Italy). At the last visit Dr Jaroszewski and her assistant (Dr. Parrett), gave us all the instructions we could need for the next 3 years (up to the removal of the bars). We were instructed on the X-rays to do and send to Dr J's office, about the therapy, cure of incisions, and how to communicate with them when needed.
We are now at home, my son feels better every day, he moves smoothly and is returning to normal life. He is currently at the 5th week post op and has stopped all meds except occasional Ibuprofen. The operation went well not only from a functionally point of view but also from aesthetically standpoint. We are very satisfied and my son is so happy that now he is always without T-shirt.

I highly recommend Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski to everyone that has pectus excavatum. If you have the possibility please do not hesitate and come in Phoenix this is a magic place for pectus. Here you can find the best knowledge and surgeons for this condition.
I am grateful to Dr Jaroszewski for everything she has done for us and for the patience she has had in answering to my boring questions. Everything about my personal experience exceeded all expectations! We will return to her for the extraction of the bar (this time at Mayo Clinic!). I would not trust to put my son’s life in any other hands.

This is my second review for Dr. Jaroszewski and Mayo Clinic. It's been three years-How time flies! In July of 2017, I was back to have my bars removed. I had my Nuss procedure when I was 23. I am now 26.

Though some of the staff have changed, such as Kelly Myer who played a huge roll in helping me with any questions or concerns and scheduling my surgery, I was very happy to see Dr. Dawn once again! When Dr. Dawn walked in for our Pre-Op appointment, She greeted me warmly and was equally happy to see me. After we caught up a little bit, Dr. J then examined my chest and said everything looked great! The Nuss procedure and the bars had done their job and it was time to take them out. Dr. Dawn ran me through the procedure and the precautions, and assured me everything will be just fine.

The next day I was back at Mayo to have surgery. As I lay waiting, I felt calm and had no fear. I had full trust in Dr. Jaroszewski just as I had 3 years prior. The nurses and the entire staff were nice, attentive, and made me feel very comfortable. Then the anesthesia kicked in and next thing I know I'm awake again, post procedure and the nurse is there to greet me with a welcoming smile. Surgery was a success! The nice thing about taking the bars out is that it's an out-patient procedure; you're literally in and out of the hospital same day and you receive you're bars as a souvenir and a reminder of the journey you'v taken.

A couple days later I met with Dr. Dawn for Post-op check up. Everything looked great. and after recovery I could get back to daily life. However, In all honesty, I was slightly sad to leave Arizona and Mayo. I will miss the people; Dr. J, the nurses, the staff, and everyone that helped me along this entire ride. Dr. Dawn and the Mayo clinic made me feel comfortable and at home-My first surgery and this one. These are truly wonderful people.

I had full trust in Dr. Dawn the entire time; From Nuss procedure to bar removal. She is a true professional, a world class surgeon, and I'd argue she is the most knowledgeable Doctor regarding Pectus in the world. On top of that, Dr. J is warm, welcoming, and genuinely cares about her patients. If you're going to trust anyone to help you, I recommend Dr. Jaroszwski and the Mayo Clinic. If you have Pectus and are looking to change your life, this is the only place to go.

I will never forget Dr. Jaroszewski and everyone at Mayo. They have changed my life for the better - as they have for many others. I'm grateful, blessed, and truly happy I had this experience. I wish Dr. Dawn the very best. I hope my reviews help someone and give some insight to the process, and especially to the amazing people you'll come in contact with.

I can't say enough great things about Dr. J and the Mayo Clinic. First of all, I met with a couple other surgeons first and they all basically blew it off and told me not to worry about the pectus. But when I first met with Dr. J it felt like a much more comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. She seems to genuinely care about the condition and its effects on patients, which was definitely not a vibe that I got from the other surgeons. As far as the operation itself, I felt like it was a much easier experience than a lot of the experiences I have read on forums. I chose Dr J not only because she is very experienced, especially with adults, but also because of her techniques. She uses shorter bars, more bars to disperse the pressure, and she doesn't use stabilizers. I think all of those were a factor in my easy recovery. I believe I was in the hospital for 5 days. Be ready to work because they have you walking and using a spirometer right away. They are very aggressive with the pain management too, which is almost as important as the procedure itself. Other than the occasional sneeze/cough I can't recall my pain being over a 6 or 7/10. I was running about a month after the procedure and back to lifting weights at 6 weeks. I had my bars in for a little over 4 years. I really barely noticed they were there to be honest. I would've left them in if there weren't concerns of complications down the road. I just had my bars removed a week ago and that also went pretty smoothly. That was an outpatient procedure. I had a hematoma rupture and had to go back to the hospital but other than that it wasn't bad. I'm a little more sore than I expected but the bar removal is not as bad as the initial procedure. Cosmetically the chest looks great. There doesn't seem to be any regression whatsoever, which I was worried about. She wasn't able to fix the rib flaring but she gave me some pretty good leads on companies that make braces. Overall I give my experience an A+ all around!

What a relief to finally know have a diagnosis and know what is wrong with with me after a lifetime of symptoms and various doctors appointments and no answers! For me externally I basically just looked liked I had great cleavage so if it wasn't for my declining health & heart symptoms... I'm just so grateful! My cardiologist found fluid around my heart which lead to a CT which found my Pectus. I was never tested on inhale & exhale so Haller index probably was deeper. I did my research & found Dr. J at the Mayo in Phoenix. I can't stress enough how important it is to find the right surgeon & care team for this procedure, especially for my age. My husband & made the trip from Virginia to AZ for my surgery. I am currently 7 months post-op and feel great! I am beyond thrilled with my decision & can't thank Dr. J & her team enough! I can breathe fully for the 1st time in my life!! I have more energy than did before & it's spring here in Virginia & usually I am am on asthma medication & inhalers & I am free of all of that this year! Truly amazing!