Pectus Excavatum

My brother has that condition and is extremely self-conscious of his bare chest- though now that he has some weight on him it is not so obvious. I don't think anything was ever offered as a remedy (i.e. surgery). He has asthma (diagnosed as an adult), but I don't know if that is related or not. It didn't "get worse" as he grew- It was always just caved in, and still is. He's now 38. (He has no children, so I can't say anything about the heredity aspect, but he is a firefighter and it hasn't affected his physical ability to do that job with all its demands.)

I do not know much about that, but my step son had the same thing, and from what my mother-n-law said my husband did too. Both of them look completely normal now though, I never would have known my husband was the same way unless his mom told me. My step son is now 7 and his went away by the time he was 2.

My husband has the same problem. It has never caused any health problems and none of his 3 children have that problem. I am sure it is something that the doctor will keep an eye on, as there can be other problem with the same conditions. In my husbands case it was very benign.

My experience, which has been with kids with disabilities, has been that kids with a pectus usually have breathing problems or are "low tone" which means they are lacking the proper muscle tone to support themselves appropriately. Every child I have had that had this problem, it rectified itself with proper treatment for the underlying problem. If your son is developing normally, then I think keeping an eye on it is all you can do. Surgery can be done to fix the problem if it interferes with his life or eventually causes emotional issues.

L.

My son had this when he was born due to breathing difficulties which caused strain on his body. Over the past few months it has gotten better and my pediatrician monitors it and has not mentioned it as an issue any further. Honestly, it has not been considered an issue. But again, every case varies so ask your doctor directly if there is cause to be alarmed. For my case, I have been told that it is not an issue.

Don't know about that condition exactly but my and my brother's ribcages are pushed in on one side -- my defect is mostly hidden by my boobs (except from one side I look like a playboy centerfold and the other side I look like a circus freak -- but that's another story), but it has never changed and hasn't affected my or my brother's lives at all.

One of my oldest son's friends has a kind of strange-looking chest, and he was very self-conscious about it. He wouldn't take his shirt off at the beach, for example. So as your son grows you might want to make sure he is comfortable with the way his chest looks (subtly, without making a big deal out of it.)