Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski

I can't begin to thank Dr. Jaroszewski and the team for everything they've done for me. I initially got this procedure done in 2019 and have at the time of writing already had the bars removed after having had them in for around 3.5 years and I couldn't be happier with the results. Before the procedure, I was quite self-conscious regarding my pectus and would avoid partaking in any activities where I could potentially be physically "exposed" around other people. I was conflicted and upset because I believed this lack of confidence in my self-image would limit me severely in all different aspects of my young adult life and it did. This was also more impacting due to the stage of life I was in at the time, as I'd been dealing with that issue since middle school up into my high school years by that point. I had very often contemplated going to the gym purely to try and bulk up a bit as a way of "masking" that indent in my chest but I was always too afraid to do it because of the thought that I may get judged by others for how I looked. I even came to find out later on that some of my ability to exercise was actually limited due to the condition. However, thanks to the wonderful work of Dr. Jaroszewski and the rest of the amazing team, I no longer have to worry about any of that. For the first time in a long time I feel like I'm not different and I only have them to thank for that. They helped me gain my confidence back and that in turn provided me more than I could have ever hoped for in the long run. The team was very professional, caring, understanding, and descriptive in what everything entailed. They helped make the process less frightening and made me feel like I wasn't alone in how I felt. Hands down this was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself and I wouldn't have done it any other way.

I was 12 years old when I first knew I had something wrong with me. My pediatrician at the time really didn't have a medical opinion for me, it just wasn't something that was taken seriously and he told me, "That's just the way God made you". While I appreciated that and left thinking that it was only a cosmetic issue and that I just had to live with it. The condition bothered me all my life, I was always behind my peers in fitness, thought I didn't attribute that to pectus, and I avoided taking my shirt off in public all my life. I always felt "less" than I should and it bothered me and prevented me from being and feeling like the person I should be. Fast forward 39 years by chance I saw Dr. J giving a lecture about this condition and I was floored, I couldn't believe someone understood this condition and had a passion to drive awareness and treatment. I contacted Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale Sept 2020 and had a teleconference with Dr J to talk about my case and the steps needed to determine the necessity of repair. I was immediately confident that I had contacted the best doctor and one of the foremost experts in understanding and innovating treatment for pectus. I wanted a doctor that handled not a few, but hundreds of adult cases at a facility with a top notch team. I found all of that at Mayo and Dr J and her team of highly competent professionals. Mayo has truly mechanized medicine I have never received care like I did at Mayo. On April 1, 2021 I had my procedure and I am just two weeks into recovery as I write this review. My biggest fear was a long painful recovery and I actually overprepared to make sure that I could be independent in what I believed would be weeks of agony. Dr J and Mayo, however, are at the forefront of pain management and I was given the option of cryoablation rather than opioids which really don't work well for me. Still I expected to be helpless. In fact I expected to be in the hospital for 3-4 days and made care arrangements based on that belief. It was actually kind of funny when I conveyed these plans in preop I could see that Dr J and the team kind of smile but were willing to accommodate extra days if I needed them. When I woke up I found myself in recovery feeling pretty darn good and was up and walking around in no time. Even the supporting nurses in recovery when they saw me walk out of the room, which I wasn't supposed to do, with my IV look up and I could see the surprise and one just said "I can't believe it". I was out of the hospital the next day after quickly changing my travel plans and assuring Dr J that I had a responsible adult to take me back to my hotel. 7 days later I had my postop follow up and was cleared to travel back home to Colorado. I was given a number of prescriptions but Ibuprofen and Tylenol are really all I have needed and I feel so thankful that I am on the mend and feel better every day. Today I feel like I am breathing for the first time and the physical appearance of my chest makes me shed a tear every time I look at myself in the mirror. Mayo and Dr J changed my life and I encourage anyone who thinks they have a chest wall deformity to seek help, do research, find the best doctor you can, and for me that is Mayo Clinic and Dr. Jaroszewski and her team of experts that are the Gold Standard of treatment and care. God may have made me the way I was, but Dr. J made me better and I am forever thankful and looking forward to working my way through this 3 year journey in partnership with my primary care provider and Dr. J's team.

My name is Christine and I am 44 years old. Dr Jaroszewski performed a modified Nuss procedure to fix me on February 19, 2021 and I am currently almost 2 months post-surgery. She is the only reason I am here today.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr Dawn Jaroszewski and her team at the Mayo Clinic. I did not present with “classic” pectus excavatum (PE) symptoms and appeared largely normal from the exterior if you did not know what to look for. After being diagnosed with severe PE through a cardiac MRI, I reached out to the Mayo Clinic to get an appointment with Dr Jaroszewski and sent all of my image data and relevant lab results to their Medical Records office. I first met with Dr Jaroszewski's nurse, Meagan, to review my history and then had a separate meeting with Dr Jaroszewski. Dr Jaroszewski already reviewed my data and came to my appointment informed, prepared and ready to make a plan. I knew she was the right surgeon for me - no one else could understand my case, and I met with multiple surgeons. She was my Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Because the COVID pandemic was surging at the time, it was not straightforward for me to get to the Mayo Clinic for the testing to triage my case into an emergent or an elective track so Dr Jaroszewski provided guidance and advised my local care team to complete the required testing. Once the critical data was gathered, Dr Jaroszewski called me personally to let me know that the procedure would be emergent and to expect a call from her scheduling team. My communication with Dr Jaroszewski and her team has been primarily through the Mayo Clinic online portal, and the team is well-informed, compassionate and responsive. The resources that they shared were valuable including websites, publications, TedTalks, a stretching and strengthening program, and Facebook support group. The community surrounding Dr Jaroszewski and her team at the Mayo Clinic is overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Her team was also very fast and easy to work with for my disability documentation required for work and state filings.

When we arrived at the Mayo Clinic for the pre-operative procedures and appointments the week of surgery, everything was planned, scheduled and well organized. It was refreshing to be able to just “show up” and not have to do all the heavy lifting myself, which I was accustomed to doing with my local team. Instructional materials were made available through the online portal, and were both detailed and easy to follow. All Mayo Clinic personnel were friendly and welcoming. While going through the testing and preparation for the surgery at Mayo, I was no longer treated like a fringe case – everyone was familiar with my condition, had seen it many times before and did not treat me like I was a freak. It was the first time I felt at ease in many months.

Since the surgery, which went very well, the team has been very responsive to all of my questions and again has provided additional guidance to my local care team, who will ensure I stay healthy until I return to have my bars removed. From all of my interactions with Dr Jaroszewski and her team, it is apparent why she is top in her field and that there is no one else who would have been able to manage my case. I am forever grateful to her and her team and recommend them, unequivocally.

my name is Marcelo Addario, I had surgery for pectus excavatum on September 10th 2020, I am 54 years old.

To me Dr J is like a movie star I've been watching her videos for the last two years before my surgery so to me she was a star even without knowing her.


I called her office after a failed surgery for pectus at the Cleveland clinic in Florida, the bar flipped three days after surgery and they were suppose to do the surgery again to fix it, but the day before I was suppose to have the surgery done, I called Dr J's office in the morning and Michelle and Megan arrange the phone call with Dr J on the evening.


Thanks God I had that phone call with her, next day they did removed my bar at the Cleveland clínic and on September 10th 2020 two months after I was at the Mayo clinic in Arizona for my surgery with Doctor J ( Dawn ).


All of her Staff were amazing, Carla Michelle and Megan helped me with all my needs to rush the surgery they were impeccable super professional.


Doctor J made me feel so good from the first phone call I had with her, she is definitely a genius but also a beautiful human being, she was very honest from the beginning and I definitely understood that it was going to be painful, remember I'm 54.


Now it's been almost three months since my surgery, and I'm beginning to feel better, I was in a lot of pain for the first two and a half months, I was freaking out because the pain didn't go down but I m finally beginning to feel much better.


I probably drove Michelle crazy with all my emails about the pain thinking that the bars had flipped again, remember I had very bad experiences with doctors in the last 2 years, but every time I talked or emailed the office with my concerns they always got right back to me with what I needed.


The only way I was able to stand the pain in the last two and a half months is because Dr J spoke to me many times after surgery and that made me feel so much peace of mind and I trusted her completely, also knowing that she is the best pectus doctor in the world gave me peace.

My chest looks much better, my breathing improved a lot, my heart pounding is not there , my shortness of breath not there , the pain is not over yet but I see progress every days.


If you are going to have surgery for pectus I will recommend the Mayo clinic , Dr Dawn Jaroudesky , Michelle , Carla and Megan , the whole experience was amazing and painful lol but the pain is getting better, while I was in the hospital Dr J came to see me everyday, and hospital staff were amazing.


I will also recommend that you stay in Arizona for one or two months if possible since you will have some concerns and it will be nice to be close to them.


Thank you Dawn , Michelle , Carla and Megan!!!!!
If anyone has any questions my telephone number is 786-277-2982.

We are Italian and came to Phoenix to have Dr. Jaroszewski as a surgeon. This is my second review for Dr. Jaroszewski, who implanted two bars to my son Marco in July 2017, when he was 13 yo (please see the review "An Insuperable Pectus Surgeon" August 20, 2017"). Three years have flown by and, the time has finally come to remove the bars.
The preop-visit with Dr. Jaroszewski was a very intense moment. It was like a reunion with a close relative of our family that we hadn't seen for three years. We were greeted wonderfully by her and her staff (thanks to Megan and Michelle, and also to Carla for organizing everything).
Dr. Jaroszewski examined my son's chest and said that all looked great! She explained to us how the intervention would take place, the possible complications, and how these would eventually be addressed, including her personal case histories.
She told us that, during the surgery, they would monitor Marco's cardiac functions using transesophageal echocardiography to be sure that, during and after the bars extraction, no hemodynamic hearth changes or pericardial effusion takes place.
She also explained to us that besides the general anesthesia, they would carry out regional nerve block anesthesia to improve the management of postoperative pain. She also informed us about pain control therapy.
Our surgery was scheduled for the next day. After the check-in, the staff of Dr. Jaroszewski started the pre-surgery procedures. Mayo Clinic is a superb and wonderful structure where everything works perfectly.
All the nurses who prepared Marco for the surgery were very efficient and professional, and all of them had a smile and comforting words of encouragement. Even a nurse who spoke in Italian came to welcome us (thanks to everyone!).
I was impressed by the anesthesiologist, Dr. Brad Smith, who explained to me the detail of the regional nerve blockade. I undoubtedly accepted the procedure because I understand the benefits, and for the total trust, I have in Dr. Jaroszewski and her staff.
Dr. Smith immediately carried out the procedure on Marco in an echo-guided way. Dr. Jaroszewski was also present in the room to monitor the situation.
At that point, I moved to the waiting room and Marco to the surgery room. Every parent knows how hard this moment is. I was in contact by phone with my wife, who was waiting at home close to Mayo (during COVID emergency only one parent could be present).
We were worried but aware that our son was in the talented hands of Dr. Jaroszewski, the best hands of our planet. This has given us priceless relief and comfort. We could not have found better for our son. This exceptional and talented woman knows all about pectus and recognizes every sign even before things can happen.
After about 50 min the Mayo Clinic monitor signaled to me they almost finished the surgery, and Dr. Jaroszewski joined me in the waiting room to inform me that everything had gone very well. She gave me the two bars that had been in my son's chest for three long years.
I moved to the recovery area where I found Marco completely awake. He was drinking some water, and he reported only minor pains.
The operation went well not only from the functional side but also from an aesthetical standpoint (no regression at all). Dr. Smith came in the recovery room to control my son, and also Dr. Jaroszewski checked Marco once more time to be sure that all had gone well.
After a short walk in the recovery room, Marco got dressed, and we went home in Phoenix (after almost 3 hours from the starting of the surgery). At home, Marco immediately walked and ate with appetite.
The surgical procedure went very well, and the regional blockade worked great. Marco used only Ibuprofen and Tylenol the first two days post-surgery, and then only occasional Ibuprofen.
The next day Marco had the x-rays exam and a control-visit with Michelle Peterson. Everything turned out to be perfect, and the incisions looked very good. Marco also met a very gentle social assistant to answer some surveys about our family and his condition.
At the postoperative visit, seven days after surgery, Dr. Jaroszewski found Marco very well and ready to face the long trip to Italy.
It was a very loving moment. Marco was so grateful to Dr. Jaroszewski. He would have liked to embrace her, but it was not possible for the anti-COVID rules. Marco gave her a letter and a present that he likes so much.
Dr. Jaroszewski explained to us what physical exercises to be done to counteract the internal scarring (forming where the bars were previously positioned), which tightens and could cause some regression.
We are now at home, and after two weeks my son feels very better. He is making his exercises without problems.
I am grateful to Dr. Jaroszewski for everything she has done for us. She an extraordinary person also on the human side, very attentive and sensible to understand our situation and help us at her best. Everything exceeded my expectations!
I highly recommend Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski to everyone that has Pectus Excavatum. Please, don't waste time and money, here you can find all the knowledge about pectus excavatum and all the relevant updates of the Nuss surgery. For example, she has introduced nerve cryoablation to eliminate the post-op pain of the Nuss. Now, after the surgery, you can move freely, and no more opioids are necessary to control the pain.
Grazie Dr. Jaroszewski.
Angelo