Pectus Escavatum (Or Sunken Chest)

My 4 year old has a sunken chest, but it was caused by 2 open heart surgeries--that's just how his chest/sternum healed. I asked his cardiologist about it, and he said it was normal for kids in his situation--sometimes they heal and cave in and other times they stick out.

I would imagine that your son still has a lot of growing to do, so it's quite possible it will change. Perhaps you can call your doctor ahead of time--or after the appointment--to discuss it. I agree that you should not talk about it in front of your son--mostly because he's never complained about it:)

Both of my boys, 14 and 10, have this condition. It has different degrees of severity and in my boys it is rather mild. The problems come in when it is severe and interfere with the heart. The information I've received from doctors over the years is that it does not worsen with age. My boys do get comments at the pool sometimes, they were born that way so I don't even notice it anymore.

Talk to the doctor about it, they areusually very good about keeping things from scaring kiddos or causing them anxiety.

Good Luck,

M.

Yep, My best friend, now in his 50's has this.. When he was a teen, it was very noticeable.. He still has it, and is a yoga instructor, so he does sometimes bare his chest, otherwise he wears a tank while teaching.

He said that when he was in his 20's they did some sort of scan and found he was fine, but if he wanted cosmetic surgery.. which would be a bit intrusive for this, he could have it repaired. He mainly was embarrassed by the way it looked. You can imagine high school PE and the changing room..

Now one of my mom friends, her sons chest really stayed sunken and in his teens, it was discussed he needed the corrective surgery, it was going to cause problems with his heart. Especially if he was ever hit in the chest. So at some point, I did not recall the age, during summer break, he had the surgery.. There was a recovery period, and he did great.

Both of these guys where super thin. both were also quite bright ( geeky), but one is the Attorney/Yoga studio owner.. and the other is a Doctor..

So it was physical, but nothing neurological goes along with it.

Now that you mention it my younger one (15) has a sunken in spot on his chest that I didn't notice until the last couple of years when he shot up to 6'3". He's about 144 pounds which is too thin for his height, and I just assumed it was from that.

I have not heard of the condition you mention but it wouldn't surprise me if it gets more noticeable as he gets older and taller. I'd love to know what your ped says about it.

The really weird thing is that my older son (18) has the OPPOSITE problem. Right at the same point in his chest he has a little bony-type structure that protrudes a bit. I remember freaking out when I first saw it (maybe when he was 11 or 12?). But the ped said it was nothing to worry about, and that it was related to growth. ???

Good luck - hope to see an update.

i am sorry to hear this. Google it. Since no mama has answered maybe they all are stumped too.