Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski

I did quite a bit of research before settling on Dr. J. She had certain techniques that set her apart from her peers. When I inquired at 2 of the leading competitive hospitals if I could expect the same techniques and care as Dr.J I was left unassured.
I became frustrated at one point,which is not uncommon at all during the testing and scheduling phase. I found myself being completely selfish as to why I just couldn't get this thing scheduled and done and over.
Then I had a "vision" ..so to speak. Dr.J was this incredibly gifted individual with special skills only she and a handful of people in the world posses. The vision was of an endless line of people that stretched around the world who all suffered from pectus and were waiting on her to solve their problem. I became filled with compassion when I realized what an immense responsibility has been laid on her shoulders, and the incredible struggle it must be between wanting to save the world and maintain a healthy and sane life of her own. I never shared that with her, but I did have to apologize to Kelly Meyers, her coordinator....who is the best. She was on the receiving end of some of my impatient emails.
After having gone through it my expectations were far exceeded in the final appearance, but also in the treatment and care by the entire staff.
When I was 13 years old my pectus had developed to a point where my sternum was almost touching my backbone and was putting a tremendous amount of pressure on my heart and reduced my lung capacity. I remember having difficulty walking to and from school,riding my bike or any physical activities..so I tended to be a nerd, reading books and playing with computers.
At 13 there was what was considered the best option at the time something called a Ravitch procedure. This is where they go in and cut out the portions of the cartilage and bone that cause the defect.In my case they took out a large amount and left me basically with what is called a floating sternum, where the ribs and sternum are not necessarily attached but just kind of "floating" there.
After the first surgery I felt some relief and got into lifting weights.Up until I was about 18 I felt good but then I noticed things were not working the way they should. I am 6'6 and a lot of growth happened between the surgery at 13 and 18 years old.
I had increasingly more difficulty with exercise and doctors continually wrote it off as 'Asthma" and had prescribed for me the highest amount of medications...2 inhalers and 3 diferent pills as well as sinus sprays.
I knew it was more than asthma so went back to my original surgeon and was told there was nothing more they could do for me.
I went to the Mayo Clinic Rochester in 2006 and within 5 minutes of being in the office was told the only thing they could do for me was block the pain in my spine.

I went to Loyola University and again was told there was nothing they could do for me.

I continually did research on the internet until I came across the research of Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. She had taken a newer technique called the Nuss which was being used on younger patients. She had taken that procedure put some of her own fine details into it that was giving results far above what other surgeons were achieving...plus she was one of only a few surgeons in the world to be doing it on old guys like me...now 45 years old!
One thing that set her apart is that she used 4 different tests to detect the effect the pectus was actually having on my body.
I remember after having an ultrasound of my heart and ekg which she ordered with my general practioner, the stunned look on his face and the scratching of his head as he was viewing the results as he walked into the room I was in.
With a pale face, he said "What do you need me to do?"
He realized that the pectus had been compressing the top of my heart and now after the surgery Dr.J confirmed the aorta was rubbing against the sternum and is now permanently scarred but they were able to increase the space to prevent any further problems.
It was because of her knowledge and compassion that she helped develop the hybrid redo procedure for old guys like me and I am forever grateful.
Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski and her team at the Mayo in Phoenix are the ones to see.
Immediately after the surgery I experienced the relief of what I've termed "ghost symptoms", where I would wake up in the middle of the night struggling for air and reaching for my asthma inhaler to not have any relief. Since then I have not had any such symptoms and have not used my inhaler. I know it's still early but I have high hopes things will only get better.

The hospital was Amazing, as well as all the staff. Staff was amazing even way before I ever met them or got to the hospital. They have been helping me through phone & email long before my actual visit to Mayo. Only place that had cared enough to help before I was an actual patient. I had no complaints whatsoever about staff or hospital.
They also have a wonderful cafeteria & food list for your room. First night out of surgery they sent me food I did not like & it was no problem to switch. They put me on phone with lady & she took her time & gave me all my options.
There are also golf carts in parking lot that drive you up to the hospital so you don't have to walk. It was Free & driven by a very nice/friendly volunteer. It was so much help after the major surgery for my post-op visit & evaluation.
We also Loved the gift shop & women that run it!

Dr Jaroszewski and her team at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona are top notch! In my opinion Dr J is the best Pectus surgeon in the world and after doing my research I would not have trusted my life in anyone else's hands.

I was born with pectus excavatum and I didn’t even know what my chest condition was called until age 33. By then it became unbearable for me to live with. My sternum was pushing in on my heart and lungs. I had chest and back pains, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing and I was fatigued everyday. Several people in an online support group were among the first to tell me about Dr Jaroszewski and from there Kelly Myers, Dr J’s pectus coordinator, worked with me so I could actually travel to Phoenix for surgery.

Dr J and her team quickly answered every question and calmed every nerve that I had. They are so knowledgeable and kind and made me feel comfortable in a way I never felt before. I was always told my entire life that my chest condition was just cosmetic even though I could feel the symptoms. Dr J and her team cared enough to listen to my every concern and offered me a way to fix them.

The surgery was very painful, but they are experts at pain management. The first day I was on morphine and then was switched to oral medication and the On-Q pump. On day two I was up and walking around and even was able to go outside. My pain may have spiked at about a five or six, but with the push of a button someone was there to alleviate my pain. On day three I was checked out of the hospital.

What Dr Jaroszewski did for me was truly life changing and even made me rethink the goals in my life. As of today I’m only eight weeks post op, but I have already begun to spread awareness and to reach out and help others with pectus. Dr Jaroszewski’s YouTube videos alone contain vast amounts of knowledge. I highly recommend watching them and reading everything on her site drjpectus.com if you are considering surgery. As for myself, I have been documenting my entire journey to pectus surgery on YouTube and I’m glad to have Dr J be a part of my story. I setup a website so I can easily reach out to others and direct them to my videos and all the information that I come across such as links to Dr J’s site and pectus.com. Please feel free to contact me about anything.

I can’t recommend Dr Jaroszewski, her pectus team and the Mayo Clinic enough. If you think you need pectus surgery please do yourself a favor and call Kelly Myers.

Parents Perspective: My son just had a Nuss procedure to correct a previous Nuss surgery done in 2010 at 17 and Pectus Excavatum. I want to start off by giving some back story on the first surgery that we had done to correct PE with a Haller index of 3.2. My son went in to the surgery to have 2 bars placed and correct his misaligned ribs. The surgeon ended up placing only 1 bar and didn't address any of the rib flare or misalignment, he ended up keeping the bar in for 3 years and his chest ended up collapsing under the 1 and only bar placed so he ended up having a 4.2 Haller index previous to this last surgery. The surgeon didn't request any x-rays in the 3 years that he had the bar in and post-surgery care was the worst. We didn't see the surgeon for several days after and pain management was none existent. He spent 8 days in the hospital, lost 10lbs and vomited constantly because of the pain and the meds, to say I was nervous to have him go through this experience again is an understatement. When we got the referral to Dr. Jaroszewski I gave them a call and explained to her Coordinator Kelly about our prior experience, she was incredibly nice and understanding and it was apparently not the first time she had heard this kind of horror story. We traveled from out of state to go and have a consultation with Dr. J and her team and they were just amazing. Immediately upon looking at the pictures from the first surgery she explained that the bar had been misplaced almost immediately which made complete sense considering the no x rays after. I spoke numerous times to Dr. J's team prior to my sons 2nd surgery, as you can imagine all the anxiety and questions I bombarded them with and they were all patient, understanding and kind. The surgery went better than I could have ever expected, Kelly came in person and updated me during the surgery because it took a little longer than they thought because of all the issues Dr. J had to address. She was able to place 3 bars, realign his ribs and put them down to a correct position. This Woman is Amazing! He woke up in recovery looked at his chest and couldn't believe it. The first thing he said to Dr. J when he spoke to her the next day is "You have changed my life". Anyone reading this is doing research for this procedure to be done and understands the significance of this. His chest had been sitting on his heart, lungs and liver he had no stamina and his self-esteem had taken quit a beating for a long time. Now let me speak about the post-surgery care, the entire floor of the hospital is dedicated to Pectus patients, Heart & Lung transplants. They have this down, the pain management was excellent!!! We saw Dr. J daily, her team daily, they are hands on with the after care and the protocol for the pain management should be used in every hospital. My son was never sick, he lost no weight, he walked daily and the nurses were the absolute best. He is 5 weeks out, looks and feels great and we are forever grateful. If you are looking for a surgeon go and meet Dr. J and her team, I cannot recommend them enough and would not recommend going anywhere else.

Having had a 1st NUSS operation in the UK in 2014 which didn't fully correct my chest, I opted for a redo with Dr J in January 2016. I'm very happy with the results as Dr J managed to massively improve my chest shape over the 1st operation and at the same time resolve some issues which the 1st operation had unfortunately caused me. Overall my experience of Dr J, her staff and the Mayo clinic was excellent. In my opinion Dr J is the best Pectus surgeon in the world today. I have posted an extensive journal on the forum linked to this site under username UK_GUY for a more detailed view of my story. For anyone thinking of having a NUSS operation don't settle for second best choose Dr J!