Dr. Klaus Schaarschmidt

I had botched op. in Australia causing detached ribs/ floating sternum flail-chest, pardoxic breathing.
bars in for 2 years2months - out mid 2015
Now i have a stable chest, and rarely think about the structural damage i had before Dr Schaarshmidt took-on my case. Now i Ride a Heavy motorcycle, body surf, and have taken up Roller Derby! - which involves a lot of tumbles - at which time i never even think of my chest!
See my full report at the other pectus dedicated website ;,....
http://www.pectusinfo.com/board/viewthread.php?tid=8337

I had my first surgery in 2012 where I got one bar in my chest. At this time I was 24 years old and had a Haller-Index of 7,9. So I was really missing a lot of space in my chest for my lungs and heart. Over the years the impact of PE to my body and fitness increased every year, I was weak-minded if I should take the risks of a surgery to hopefully get better afterwards or not. That process took me 2 to 3 years then I was strong-willed to do it. The first meetup with Dr. Schaarschmidt was very informative he explained the whole process from inserting the bars over the regeneration process. I had a good feeling that he is absolutly the right man. Also the hospital is very modern and professional, I never had a bad feeling about doctors, nurses or the used equipment and tools.
After the first surgery it will took a while to regenerate and to become accustomed to the bar in your chest. But I recognized immediately that I was able to breath as free as never could before. The whole Team at Klinikum Berlin-Buch did a extraordinary good job the whole time I spent there. Over the first weeks and month I felt better and better. In my case I was able to go to work (office job) after 5 weeks and after 6 weeks I stopped eating painkillers, was not the best idea to stop them so fast but worked for me. Doing sports was way more fun and helped a lot to get fit.
Over the years sometimes I recognized that there is a bar in my chest, but I had no pain and didn't need any painkillers. That time was great I could run as I couldn't never before, I ran my first half marathon in that time. So I was very happy and had a whole new quality of life. After 4 years I called Dr. Schaarschmidt office to make an appointment for the second surgery to get the bars out. A few weeks later I checked-in at Klinukum Berlin-Buch again and got the bar removed, after the second surgery the regeneration time was shorter and I were able to go to work (still a office job) after two weeks. The best thing is that it feels like I could now breath more free than with the bar and overall body feeling is way better after the bar is removed, so I was happily surprised that it is now better with the bar and the chest is stable enough to stay in its form and not falling back to PE. At the bar removel he also fixed some litte cosmetic issues and after the second surgery is also looks very normal.
After all I am happy that I decided to get rid of PE with the Nuss procedurce well done by Dr. Schaarschmidt and his great Team.

I’m from Poland. I’m 48 years old. It was the last time for decision. I had date reservation in Poland (one year wait) . While when I was waiting for surgery I got contact with prof. Klaus Schaarschmidt. He had answered immediately and invited me for professional operation on my chest. I've never seen in Poland as hospital as Berlin Buch. There is very well. I saw that staves working calmly and everyone knew what they should do. Prof. Schaarschmidt has amazing hands for difficult work. He is like quick man. I felt safely with him. I had pectus excavatum 3 cm symmetric. Before surgery prof. suggested one bar inside my chest, but while surgery he decided used 2 bars because my bones were hard. After surgery I was exercising with prof. Schaarchmidt and physiotherapist and his assistant and of course with my sweetie wife. It was difficult time for me but I survived. I felt pain that I can't slept all night without painkiller. While sitting or standing was OK but when I laying it was bad I felt tough pain. I was constantly sleepy and I couldn't working. After three month I've put off painkillers and I came back to work. After six month I was beginning workout: jogging, gym and soccer. My chest looks better and better. I'm more confident person than before. My dream realized and I won new dreams. Now is nine month after surgery. I can definitely put my opinion it was the gorgeous decision to do surgery by prof. Klaus Schaarschmidt.

I first noticed that I had pectus when I was 12 years old when a friend of mine commented it during a shower after gym class. At first I didn't care but when I got older (14-15) and started to meet girls I got really anxious about it. I didn't really have a big bump, but it was assymetrical and also I had pretty bad rib flare.

Tried to see a doctor here in Sweden but they told me it was nothing, that it wouldn't show when I put on some weight (I was quite skinny as a kid). Of course I started working out and put on alot of weight, and I guess it got alittle bit less prominent. But I still developed a social anexity about it. Summer was the worst, I never wanted to go swim with my friend or take my shirt off. So I would hide inside at the gym or by my computer.

At this time I did some research and figured out that I had PC. I actually read up on Prof Schaarschmidt at this time and printed some info etc and gave the doctor another try. Still they laughed me off and said it was nothing, everyone is diffrent etc.... At that moment I decided that I would work my ass off to be able to pay for the operation myself. So I started to work part time while still in school to start the operation funds. I kept working out of course because I still had some hope that it would eventually hide it enough.

However when I got older, around 19-20, I noticed that I started to get alot of back pain, it was always on my left side (where the bump was "larger") so I had to stop working out. Also I felt like my upper body was always "rotated" when doing some exercise like rows, pull down or overhead lifts. I went to several physiotherapeuts but noone could help me. My back muscle on the left side was underdeveloped and I had a winged scapula on left side.

So finally in the beginning of 2017 I had saved enough money to get the operation done in Berlin. I e-mailed Klaus and sent some pictures. He answered very fast and gave me some answers to my questions like my back issues but he said it would be easier if he could see it in person. So me and my mother took a flight to Berlin to meet him. He looked at my chest and did some measurement and told me indeed I have pectus carinatum. Felt so good to get confirmation that it was actually PC. I asked if he would recommend the surgery, especially with my back/shoulder issues. He said he couldn't promise me anything but that it was likely it would help and that it was up to me to decide. After all it was not a huge PC and it's quite an operation to go through.

But I decided to do it and I got an operation time only 2 months from our meeting which was very quick and nice! However when I got to the hospital on operation day they had forgot to tell me I had to get some tests done like EKG/Blood tests/lung test/x-ray. So the day before operation I had to rush around the hospital just as they were about to close to get the tests but thanks to all the kind doctors it was made in time!

The anaesthesia and operation went well. However the pain when I woke up and the following days/week was alot worse than I anticipated. But the nurses were really nice and if it was to much to bare I could just ask for more painkillers. He fixed both my PC and my flared ribs with 1 bar. Also I want to say the language barrier can be alittle rough sometimes if you don't speak deutsch but with some imagination it is no problems. Also don't cheat on your breathing exercises, it will hurt but you have to do it! Prof Schaarschmidt visited me a few times and made sure I didn't cheat on them but it was tempting sometimes. I also got some water in my lungsack (500ml left side) so I had to puncture it to drain it (350ml) because Klaus told me he wouldn't feel safe with me flying home without having it drained.

Now it's around 6 weeks since my operation, I am quite satisfied. My chest looks really good and also my flared ribs. But I rate the cosmetic part 9/10 since on my right side I still have some flare, nothing major but still. Also I've talked to Prof Schaarschmidt about it and he tells me it is easy to fix during bar removal so I hope he is right! Also it did help alot with the back and shoulder issues which is great. I still have to get my mobility and strength up after all those years with PC but I am sure it will be fine.

I would recommend Dr Schaarschmidt to anyone looking to get the chest fixed. After all he is the most experienced surgeon when it comes to this kind of operations.

To be honest i didnt expect such a perfect effect. I always wanted to repair my pe and rib flare but was aware that it is extremely hard to reach a overall esthetic satisfaction. For me it was like, anything is better than this. Dr. Klaus Schaarschmidt repair my rib flare just right, i am finally over with my pe, thank you so much doctor Klaus!