Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski

This is a follow-up review 4 months post-op for Nuss by Dr. J. While I do not regret having the Nuss completed at Mayo by Dr. J, the end result is not what was intended. The first 2 months the chest was healing well and the pain management plan was fantastic. After 2 months the center point of my chest began pointing outwards. I completed the required 2 month x-rays, which was promptly sent off to Dr. J's office. After a month of waiting, I received a call from someone on Dr. J's team confirming that the Nuss procedure over-corrected the pectus excavatum creating just the opposite pectus carinatum. I was terribly disappointed and frustrated that all the pain and expense to correct the excavatum only resulted in carinatum. Evidently this happens in about 20% of the Nuss procedures, and I was the unlucky one to experience this result. I've still yet to hear back from Dr. J directly now that they've had my x-rays for 2 months, and not sure what corrective action is possible at this point.

Again, I do not regret having the Nuss procedure done at Mayo Clinic by Dr. J and her fantastic team. But the post-op follow up has been disappointing, and the end result of now having pectus carinatum is frustrating. When preparing for the Nuss, please do extensive research and know it's not a perfect procedure. Every chest is unique and Mayo & Dr. J are the leaders, but the Nuss needs to be continually improved to ensure consistent results long term.

We first noticed my pectus when a teammate asked me what was wrong with my chest, within minutes of researching I learned of pectus excavatum and decided to see a doctor about it. He diagnosed me with pectus excavatum and told us that it was pretty much cosmetic but that it could be fixed with surgery. After taking a couple of tests and a CT-scan we discovered that it was causing pressure on my right ventricle. After this we decided that surgery needed to be done, the aforementioned doctor told us he performed the surgery, but he seemed inexperienced and I didn't want a man who thought that pectus excavatum was only a cosmetic deformity to perform such a difficult procedure on me and I was not able to put my chest and life in his hands. I wanted not only a surgeon who knew and understood everything about the deformity, but I also wanted the best. So, after researching, we discovered Dr. J who seemed to meet the above criteria. After contacting her we decided she was the one and went ahead and scheduled the operation a year in advance.

My whole life up until this point had been perfectly healthy, I had only even been sick a handful of times, much less had surgery. So, for over a year, the operation loomed over me, constantly stressing me out and many times leaving me wondering why I was putting myself through this, but I always knew I had to do it. Finally, over a year after scheduling, the day finally came to fly all the way across the country to Arizona, in the 105 degree weather to have bars ran into my chest. I was scared, more scared than I've ever been in my life, but the next morning at the pre-op appointment I met Dr. J and her team. Dr. J is such a nice and caring person, and it was surreal to finally meet her. After their explanations my fear was gone. When we arrived at the Phoenix Children's Hospital we signed in and were almost immediately taken into the pre-op room where I met all the people who would be involved in the operation. Next, they gave me something to calm down, took me back, and put me to sleep.

When I woke up I looked at the result and was amazed, it was perfect. I had a pretty deep asymmetrical pectus with some pretty bad rib flare, but she fixed it all. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I'm sure if I had expectations she would have exceeded them. I can finally walk around without a shirt unembarrassed, she has made my chest perfect and I now have a body to be proud of and comfortable in. My care team was also great and my pain only rose above a two a couple times when I got in and out of bed and when they removed the chest tube. My team helped me heal and was always there when I needed them and were always very friendly. Within four days I was able to leave the hospital. I am now coming up on three weeks post-op and my pain is a lot lower than I expected and is getting better everyday. There have only been a handful of times when I've experienced any bad pain, and overall this has been a great experience, I would definitely recommend Dr. J to anyone young or old, no matter how bad your deformity is. Dr. J is truly the best.

This surgeon gave me my life back. Two years prior to visiting her office I had underwent my first Nuss procedure under another surgeon. It was an absolute nightmare. She placed an implant which was profoundly too large in a location no where near my actual deformity She would not acknowledge any type of mistake in her work It was my own intuition that even allowed me to find someone who could help me, as the first surgeon attempted to convince me everything looked great. I was on pain narcotics the entire time I sought a second surgeon from the resulting over-sized implant, that actually caused Pectus carnitum.

Finding Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski gave me my life back. She took out the old implant (17") an placed two 14" bars in the actual location of my P.E. She is exceptionally talented and did for me what other surgeons were afraid to do. The entire experience was extremely pleasant. Between her skills, her surgical teams abilities, and the outstanding hospital stay, there is nothing more a person could ask for.

Could not ask for a better surgeon or better experience, After the failure of my first procedure by another surgeon, I did not know where to turn, From point of initial contact through the post-operative phase, Dr. J, her team and Mayo clinic have gone above and beyond my expectations. I would not trust my PE or life in any other hands.

My pectus developed while I was going through my teenage years. I started having other physical issues like shortness of breath, fainting spells, and what my family doctor diagnosed as exercise induced asthma. I didn't realize that all of these symptoms I was having were related to the pectus until I read a thread on reddit about "things that are weird about your body" and some people were talking about having 'holes' in their chests and someone replied that you could have surgery for that and so I started following the links and reading more about pectus and the physiological symptoms it can cause and the Nuss procedure. Well that started my journey toward surgery. The challenge was finding a surgeon who was experienced in the nuss procedure on adults. Long story short, after meeting with two other surgeons in Texas, I found Dr J's videos and info online and put in a request through Mayo's website to have her office contact me. It wasn't long before Kelly Myers, the pectus coordinator, called and was so helpful in walking us through all of the steps that we needed to take, what to expect, etc. I felt so relieved when Dr J accepted my case. Both she and Mayo have great reputations. I mean, she helps train other surgeons in this procedure! My mom and I flew out to Phoenix for the surgery in December. Since my chest was asymmetrical and my Haller Index was 6.25 Dr J said she probably wouldn't be able to get it perfect, that one side would probably be a little lower than the other, but she was actually able to to get it almost perfect. I do have some rib flare still on the left side (the side the dent was on) that I guess she couldn't do anything about but, overall, I'm very pleased. My surgery was on a Friday and I got out on Sunday, so a relatively short hospital stay. I don't think the pain while I was in the hospital ever got above a 2. The nurses were great and all familiar with the procedure so they were able to give explanations and tips. My mom and I stayed in the Residence Inn there in the hospital campus and I had a couple of issues while there that caused my pain level to shoot up fairly high briefly but, for the most part, it was manageable. If yiu get the hiccups or have to cough or sneeze it hurts like crazy, though! Six days post op were were able to fly back to Texas. Dr J was really easy to talk to, listened to your questions and concerns, and explained everything in an easy to understand way. I felt very comfortable with her and confident in her ability. Kelly was also very helpful. Dr. J's whole team was very friendly and helpful. Oh, and she's from Texas! I'm 5 weeks post op now and off of all Meds except occasional Ibuprofen. There is still some pain, but nothing too bad. Mostly just trying to get used to the bars. Overall I'm really pleased with my overall experience and am looking forward to feeling better than ever!