My Experience Having the Nuss Procedure for Pectus Excavatum
by Purple Herbal
I had the Nuss procedure on August 23, 2010, and am now two weeks post-op. My results were not 100%, which I am a little disappointed about. But, I am on the older side at 28 years old getting the procedure done, so I had a few complications with the surgery that a younger person probably wouldn’t have had to deal with.
My pectus excavatum was improved about 85-90%. My surgeon originally had my chest fixed perfectly, but as he was attempting to secure the stainless steel bar that “popped” my chest out, the pressure from my chest popped it back it. So, because my muscle ripped in my chest wall, two bars were placed in different locations, one at a 45 degree angle at the top of my chest, and a second one near the bottom of my rib cage. One of my lungs had to be deflated, to create more room for my surgeon to work with. This configuration of bars did not totally fix my pectus, as I still have a small dent in it, but it is a vast improvement over what it was before.
Overall, I am very happy with the results, because my heart and lungs have the room they need to expand normally. I had to deal with a lot of shortness of breath and heart palpitations before the surgery, so I am glad that I won’t have these problems anymore.
As for my hospital stay, I was there for 3 days, and had a morphine pca pump for pain relief, as well as my take home pain management every 4 hours. The pain wasn’t as bad as I expected. By the morning of the third day in the hospital, I was able to get off of the continuous supply of morphine. I left later that day, as the doctor agreed I was in good shape to leave the hospital.
I amazed my doctor with how quickly I was able to recover from the surgery. I am 28 years old, and this surgery is usually performed on children 15 years younger than me. I attribute this to the lots of prayers and help from my family (my mom, dad, and husband were constantly at the hospital with me while I was there, and my husband has been my 24 hour nurse practically since I got home from the hospital – I was always able to dress myself, use the bathroom, etc…but I needed someone to help me get out of bed and fetch me things at times), getting lots of sleep, and the fact that I have been using herbal medicine for such a long time. I also regularly eat healthy foods, prepared for this surgery for many months, and exercised almost daily for years.
Honestly, I did not expect to recover so quickly from this surgery, as I have read so much about how painful and long the recovery is for adults who get the Nuss procedure. Usually the hospital stay is over 5 days and it takes many weeks for the person’s body to readjust to having the steel bars placed in the chest. But, I had been building up my body’s strength and ability over time with herbal medicine, and have given it a good base with which to tackle certain health obstacles that come my way. Luckily, I’ve never had any real serious health issue beside my pectus excavatum, so having this mainstream medicine experience for the first time with a hospital stay and everything has given my herbalist mind an interesting perspective.
It probably took me 10 days or so after the procedure for me to feel like I was “back to normal,” notwithstanding the pain of my cartilage and ribs being readjusted. When I say back to normal, I mean feeling like I was back in my routine of getting dinner ready, cleaning up around the house, and getting back into my exercise routine. There’s always pain, it’s just how I chose to deal with it that helped me get back into my groove.
Once I got home, I had to move around a lot more, so it was a big adjustment for me. I took my pain pills as instructed, because I was quite uncomfortable doing every day tasks. After about 3-4 days of being home, though, I tried to cut down on the amount of pain management pills, because I wanted to learn to deal with the pain in more natural ways. I could tell my doctor did not want me on the heavy narcotic pain killers for more than two weeks and, personally, I did not want to be either.
Arnica played a big role in helping me to deal with the shock and trauma of the surgery, and it has helped my body readjust quickly. I take arnica in homeopathic form, as well as using a gel on the actual muscle areas that hurt.
I also used an analgesic balm that worked wonders at getting rid of the pain.
Remember, my chest popped back out, after the first bar was placed, so I had torn muscles that really ached a lot. My doctor even said he could barely sleep the night of my surgery, because he was worried about how much pain I would have.
Night time seemed to be the worst for me, in terms of pain. I was given a prescription for valium, which did help me sleep, but stopped using it regularly after the 3-4 day. I didn’t want to rely on it. I haven’t really needed it, as my pain has been steadily decreasing every day.
10 days post-op I went for my first “real” walk outside and it really seemed to help my body adjust to the bars and help get rid of the pain. Moving my arms to get dressed or wash my hair took some getting used to, but I noticed that after taking a walk I was more flexible and my body felt like it was stronger than before. I slept better that night and gained endurance every time I was out. I normally walk about 2 miles a day with my dogs, so I started out with a little over a mile the first day and have continued that thus far. After another week or so, I’d like to increase the lengths of my walks to over 2 miles.
The two week mark post-op reminds of the six week mark of breastfeeding (breastfeeding moms out there know what I’m talking about!), where I had to sort of climb over a hump in terms of dealing psychologically with what has happened to my body. At six weeks, baby’s typically go through a growth spurt, which takes a toll on a woman who is breastfeeding because the baby wants to eat constantly and it is overwhelming to someone just getting used to having another human being around that they are completely responsible for. I know longer feel the pain of labor, so to speak, with the pain of my surgery being under control now, but I have to get used to these bars in me that are never going away and that are limiting my actions, as having a newborn does, and will for many months to come.
Only once did I throw up after having the procedure. I wasn’t hungry very much for the first week. Mostly, all I wanted to do was sleep. I would say that resting most of the day was another secret for healing that first week home. My body was tired from the surgery, so I just laid in bed quite a bit. Sleep is a great medicine and shouldn’t underestimated
After about the 10th day post-op, as I’ve said, I felt a lot more active and like I wasn’t wanting to sleep all of the time. Back rubs from my husband are also great at relieving a lot of pain. There is a considerable deal of back pain associated with having this procedure, especially since I am only able to sleep on my back, so regular massages definitely help with all of the pressure and tensity there.
I am so happy to have had this procedure before I was 30, because it is a little more difficult and painful recovery for older patients. I was extremely lucky in that I had taken such good care of myself for so long, and that I had the tools of herbal and homeopathic medicine with me to use on this journey of getting surgery, something I had never done before.
Purple Herbal 
[…] 4, 2010 by Purple Herbal| Leave a comment I posted earlier about preparing for surgery and getting the Nuss Procedure. It’s been 6 weeks since my surgery and I have finally quit my pain meds…cold […]
Thanks for this post. I am into natural health but considering the surgery bc I am tired of being limited physically in fun sports. How are you feeling now? I am 44 but healthy, however I do worry about the recovery time.
You’re welcome. I feel really good now. There’s some residual pain around the bars, but I’m starting not to notice them as much. I’m at 4 months post-op. I’m probably going to have another surgery in the summer or fall in order to correct the rest of the pectus excavatum. But, it won’t be nearly as intense as the first surgery.
The recovery time for an adult is a lot longer, but for me it has been totally worth the results. I would do it again in a heartbeat, because unfortunately, there is no natural cure for pectus excavatum. I probably would never have seen a surgeon in my life for anything if it wasn’t for this.
I have read of people getting the surgery in their 50s, so if you are considering it, I would say the sooner you can have it done the better. I feel lucky that I am almost 30 and had it done already. The best advice I can give on how to ensure a quick recovery is to focus on the state you want to be in, instead of the pain you have or the fact that you are limited in movement. There will be pain. But it gradually goes away and you will improve. Everything gets better with time. Going through this process has made me realize how strong I am mentally, and physically.
Best of luck to you and let me know what you decide on doing. I would love to help you through the process anyway I can.
Thank you so much for posting I am 18 and just done the procedure I was wondering how long until you cam get in and out of bed yourself and how long until you can sleep on your side? Sleeping on my side is a big thing for me… Also just wondering how long until I feel like totally normal- like the feeling before surgery? Because nights have been so hard with my mom having to help me up and only sleeping on my back!
I definitely can relate to where you are at in the recovery process! I would say that it took me about 3 -4 weeks before I was able to get in and out of bed by myself. At first, it involved kind of rolling myself in and out of bed. I wasn’t able to lift myself up or down, that would have been too difficult. I definitely know how hard it is only being able to sleep on your back after the surgery! It took me about 4 to 5 months to be comfortable sleeping on my side. I remember thinking that even though I was at the 3 month mark, it still wasn’t comfortable for me. But little by little I was able to sleep longer and longer on my side. However, it’s still not entirely comfortable, as sometimes I feel a pinched nerve from putting pressure on the stabilizers of the bar. Feeling ‘normal’ again started happening around the 5-6 month mark, though I don’t think I will ever feel totally normal until the bars are taken out! After almost a year and half, I hardly notice the bars unless I am doing crunches or trying to lift something, when I feel some of the limitation I have because of them. Just know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! When you feel up to it, try to strengthen your ab muscles as much as possible. It will help you tremendously. Every day you will get stronger and the pain will become less and less. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any more questions! I’m happy to be of help.
Elaine, I so sorry it took me this long to respond to your other question. I am feeling very good right now. After almost a year and half, the bars are hardly noticeable. Having the Nuss Procedure, despite the complications I had, was the best thing I could have done for myself. The longer you wait to do it, the harder the recovery process will be. It’s not impossible to have it done at 50, but it seems to be a lot more painful for people than if it were done earlier in life. How are you feeling about having the surgery at this point?
I have a nine year old daughter that i am considering having this procedure, i know you are not a doctor but as a friend what would you do for your own daughter and how would you prepare the child for this surgery. I am a naturalist as well. As a parent i have seen her growth and know that she does not get enough oxygen, and i don’t like giving her asthma inhalers because of her condition. I am not asking you to comment on the inhaler, i just wanted to let you know that because of her condition, shortness oxygen they prescribed inhaler, which does not correct the problem because it is not asthma related, but since she has shortness of breath it is prescribed. We live in maine and have clean air around us.
Thank you for you time and my prayers are with you and your family as well. Good Healing.
john wachtler
Hi John,
Thank you for your kind words. I hope I can be of some help to you and your daughter. One thing I remember my surgeon telling me before I had my surgery (he was actually a pediatric surgeon, so most of the Nuss procedures he did were on children) was that he thought the surgery should be delayed until the child is an older teenager. This, he said, was because children’s bones/cartilage continue to grow until they are 17 – 19. He truly thought having the procedure done after that period of intense growth is the ideal situation. Of course, you and your daughter may feel differently. In any case, when your daughter is ready to have her surgery, the best preparations she can make are to eat a healthy diet (lots of fruits and vegetables and protein), drink plenty of pure water, exercise, and have a good mental attitude with which she can draw upon her inner reservoir of strength. There will be pain, there will be limitations in movement, and it will feel like a long recovery, but feeling confident beforehand that the surgery will go well and that afterwards she will be capable of handling the changes to her body will help immensely.
Here are some things I did to prepare for my surgery that may be helpful to your daughter: I drank infusions of the herb horsetail. It is very rich in silica. It’s a wonderful herb that strengthens bones and cartilage. Also, I took homeopathic arnica after my surgery, which helped with the shock and trauma on my body. And I used Bach’s Rescue Remedy to help deal with the stress of the situation. I had never had surgery before, so I was extremely stressed out about it. Bach’s Rescue Remedy helped a lot. I drank aloe vera juice to help boost my immune system (being in a hospital, you never know what you could catch – plus aloe reduces inflammation), and lots of green smoothies to increase my vitamin and mineral intake. Coconut water was something I enjoyed both before and after my surgery, because it is full of electrolytes and potassium.
I hope this helps.
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do. I wish you and your daughter the very best, and hope all goes well for her.
I just had the Nuss procedure on July 20th and recovery has been rather tough. I’m 27, 6’3″ 200lbs and had a Haller Index of 4.2 so the doctors decided to place 3 bars inside of me (luckily no stabilizers) to obtain the desired results. I learned through their medical notes that they cut out sections of cartilage to reduce the rib flaring and that they had to temporarily detach my pectoralis major from my top abdominal muscles to get the bars in. After that they put me on a chemical cocktail of drugs (Oxycodone, Oxycontin, Valium, Gabapentin, Tramadol, cyclobenzaprine, mercampthanol) after the epidural from the hospital. I have always preferred holistic remedies and diet to safeguard my health and wanted to ask you what you would recommend? I have decided to stop taking all the painkillers and muscle relaxers due to their adverse side effects but I am in desperate need of advice of what to do for bone and muscle repair. I have a daughter due in November and I want to be in prime condition for her arrival.
Thanks,
Hi Jon,
In order to speed up bone repair I would recommend using the herbs comfrey, nettle, oat straw, and horsetail. For muscle recovery, try burdock and kava root, turmeric, and arnica.
Nettle, oat straw, and horsetail can easily be made into a nourishing tea that you can drink every day. They are all very high in vitamins and minerals (calcium, silica, and manganese to name a few), just what the body needs to repair bone. With horsetail, be sure to purchase the Equisetum arvense variety. It is not recommended that you drink horsetail for long periods of time. So, drink it with the nettle and oat straw for a month, then stop for a month, then drink it for a month, etc…
Comfrey is an herb that will actually help both bone and muscle repair, as it contains allantoin. Because there is some controversy as to whether comfrey is safe to ingest, what I suggest doing is using it as a poultice. Take the powdered leaves and mix with water to make a paste, apply the paste to the affected area. Leave on until it dries. Rinse. Putting the paste inside cheesecloth might help make this a less messy process. You could also make an infused oil with the comfrey and use it as a massage oil. Or just take comfrey tincture and rub it into the skin.
Burdock root detoxifies the liver which will help flush the cocktail of chemicals that have accumulated in your body, and it also minimizes the creation of lactic acid which speeds up muscle recovery.
Kava root also blocks lactic acid from forming and is a great stress reliever. It has a very calming effect on the mind and body. Like with horsetail, use kava for one month then stop for one month, etc…
Turmeric is a powerful herb that has been found to repair damaged muscles and reduce pain and inflammation because of the curcumin it contains. It can easily be added to the diet. It is a very popular herb in Indian cooking.
Arnica, usually found in cream or gel form, is applied topically to the skin to heal wounds. Arnica also reduces muscle aches and soreness as well as inflammation.
To get more calcium in your diet eat lots of fish (salmon and sardines with bones), yogurt, parsley, watercress, and sesame seeds. To help the calcium get absorbed, eat fresh fruits (apples, bananas, and avocados) to get magnesium, and make sure to get lots sunlight for vitamin D. Oatmeal contains lots of silica. Fenugreek seeds have also been found to aid in bone healing.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.
Is there a supplier that you would recommend? Also I have some nerve damage across my chest and numbness still 1 month after the surgery. They said it will go away in time but could be permanent. Is there anything you could suggest for this?
Thanks again,
Here is a list of 5 online organic wholesale herb suppliers. I must say that I have not purchased herbs from any of these companies, since I am lucky enough to have my local health food store carry all of the herbs that I need. But, out of all of the suppliers, Mountain Rose Herbs would be my first choice.
Useful herbs for nerve damage are St. John’s Wort, Skullcap, Passion Flower, and Valerian. Also, try applying capsaicin cream externally to the affected area. Capsaicin stimulates blood flow and creates a hot sensation on the skin that helps improve nerve function. Kava and turmeric, as mentioned earlier, are also great nerve tonics.
Hope this helps.
[…] Purple Herbal After having one of the most painful surgeries out there, the Nuss Procedure for pectus excavatum 2 years ago, I needed to find herbs that would help my bones and muscles repair […]
Do you have any updates about the effect of the procedure? It would be really good to get some long term impact of the Nuss procedure, whether the sternum reverts to its old position at all?
I am due to go under the knife in 2 months, and just want to check I am doing the right thing?
Yes, I have been meaning to do another post that updates where I’m at and my reflections on the past two years with the bars in. I can tell you that, despite everything I’ve gone through having the Nuss procedure, it was totally worth it and I would definitely do it again if I had the choice. My heart finally has room and I can workout/exercise without getting short of breath all the time. I’ve considered leaving the bars in for longer, but at this point I am ready for them to be out. Subscribe or check back in the next week or so for that new post. Thanks for inspiring me get it done!
Oh btw, out of all the herbs you suggested I would have to say that the turmeric helped the most (of course I’ve been using burdock for a few years now so maybe it was the combination of the two). 4 Months post-op and I’m still numb across my chest but the inflammation has gone and my muscles have greatly recovered. Thanks 🙂
Hi Jon, you’re welcome! I’m so happy to hear that your muscles have recovered and the inflammation has gone down in your chest. Two years out from my surgery, I still experience a little numbness. I wonder if it won’t totally go away until the bars are taken out. I guess I’ll find out August 2013 🙂
This post really helped me. I’m 19 years old. Almost 20, and I have been noticing a shortness of breath and at night some pain in my cavity. I don’t know if this happens with growth but it feels like my heart doesn’t have enough room to grow and I have been having trouble breathing. I have been told my whole life that there is nothing to worry about with my pectus and just recently having these symptoms I have become worried, yet my mom keeps telling me that there’s nothing to worry about. I would really like to look into having this procedure done. Though it worries me because I have a very low pain tolerance. If you have any suggestions on if I should look into the surgery let me know. I’m going to try and get an appointment with my doctor soon to see if it has gotten worse. Thanks.
Honestly my mother said the same thing when I was growing up. Only after I had the procedure and she saw all the pain that I went through did she regret not taking action. Only until I was on my own with a good job and benefits did I look into it. Once your bones harden its a more painful process. I’m now nearing a year post-op and my health has dramatically improved. At the gym I can push myself harder than ever before. I can hold my breathe for nearly twice as long and I don’t have to worry about limiting myself.
My suggestions is to contact Dr. Jarozewski or her head nurse Marianne Merritt at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Az. She is one of the leading specialists in the world and her team knows how to go about getting much of the procedure covered my health insurance. They will administer several tests (Haller, VO2 max, EKG, Doppler, Xray, etc) to prove to the insurance company that it isn’t ‘cosmetic’. The initial procedure is around 70k (billed to insurance anyways). After (and during) the operation they will shoot you up with tons of painkillers. Unfortunately many did not work for me, and all the side effects were too much to take, so I stopped cold turkey… not something I would suggest as I had withdrawl effects. I strongly recommend planning out an all natural healing regime before undertaking the surgery. Alyssa’s advice really helped me through the ordeal.
I’ve had this surgery approximaly nine months ago, when I was sixteen. The pain shouldn’t be underestimated, I’ve had two completely sleepless post-operatie nights due to the extreme pain after I was discharged from the hospital. The pain became slightly less and after about 3 weeks I was able to go to school, ride a bike etc. Really intense sporting activities were out of the picture for three months. I found it very difficult to cope with the fact that I couldn’t do any sports, so there wasn’t much of a distraction for me. On the other hand though, the result is very satisfying to me and I’ve become more confident then I used to be. By now, my physical condition is better than it was before the nuss procedure, however, I cannot do exercises like pull-ups at all and push-ups are very hard whereas it used to go easily for me. I think it has been worth the surgery, regarding not being able to do particular exercises do not weigh up to the fact that my chest looks more normally and I’ve gained more confidence. In the end, I would advise to feel undergo the surgery even though it may hurt quite a lot. I wish you good luck from the Netherlands.
Well, such procedures may be worth trying if the bulk in the chest is really ugly, but more often than people think, the surgery is not successful, or one changes a shape of the breast that is essentially not ugly, only somewhat unusual. It is with this like orthodonicts. One often normalizes something that is neither ugly nor gives any problems, and the treatment creates problems instead.
Joost,
The exercise routine will take time. I was nearly a year post op before I was able to do just one pull up (14 was my normal set). The biggest thing to overcome is the fear of the pain itself. Some of the residual pain felt around the tie points of the bar will be scar tissue that will break/tear. Arnica, bromelain, and turmeric helped with swelling and repair as well as omega 3s. Exercises I would recommend would be lat pull downs, push ups, tricep extensions while laying on your back, and Various ab exercises using a yoga ball as they often stretch your core. But the biggest thing to remember is to keep with it. Congrats on the surgery.
I too had the nisd procedure. It was inserted at 15 and removed at 18. Like yourself, i recovered quickly and was “fixed” about 85% compared to how it was previously. However, a minor complication i noticed was numbness on my sides, armpit to hip. I am now almost 23 and have suffered this since the first op. Not sure if its connected to the epidural… Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Gary,
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had numbness on your side for that long. There are a few herbs that are helpful for repairing nerve damage: vervain, skullcap, and damiana. A homeopathic remedy for nerve damage (which I used when I had numbness in my thumb and fore finger from damage from the IV) was Cocculus indicus and it helped a lot to get rid of the numbnesss. Let me know what you think and if I can be of any more help!
My son had the Pectus bar installed March 19th 2014. The second day after surgery he told his Dr. that the bar moved. His Dr. stated it did not move he just had a sensitive disposition. A few weeks after the surgery the incision on his lright side opened up and was draining a yellowish fluid. His Dr. once again stated this was normal and not to worry about it. My son also had a definate twist to his spine and numbness in his right arm and fingers. His Dr. stated this was not from the surgery. We finally took him to the ER and they cultured the fluid. He had contracted a staph infection and was given a 10 day dose of anti-biotics. After the dosage was complete he once again started to produce a yellowish drainage. The Dr,. did not culture the fluid to test for staph, but asked if we would feel better if he was given another dose. We stated that we would. At 6 weeks post op my son was still having severe chest pain and numbness in his arm. His Dr. then said that maybe the bar just wasn’t for him. We opted to have the supports taken out. During that surgery the Dr. discovered that the bar had slipped (6 weeks prior) between his ribs which was causing the severe pain. His incisions healed up nicely, but after 2 weeks the incision on his right side once again opened up and started to drain the same yellowish fluid. His Dr. once again said this is just the body finding a way to get rid of the excess fluid. We once again took him to urgent care where it was determined that he still had a staph infection. We switched his Dr. and finally after over 3 months of dealing with this we were seen by infection control. They now determined that since the infection has been there so long and anti-biotics are not very successful when the infection is on the bar it now has to be removed. This has been a horrible experience for my son.
I am so sorry to hear this 😦 I hope your son is able to make a full recovery. I just had my bars removed after having them in for three years, and my pectus has returned. Now I’m wondering if the surgery is really worth it in the first place?
My daughter is having similar problems, what have they done? Did they remove the bar.
My son who is 15 almost 16 had a Nuss procedure 3 weeks ago & he is still in pain. I am thinking of trying homeopathic but I just don’t know. He can’t stay on meds forever. He was very athletic but it has been in the high 90s here & 100s so exercising is not an option yet. Any suggestions at all?
Hi Merry, I think that is normal for your son to still be in pain after 3 weeks. All I can say is that it will get better with time. I eventually had to stop the pain killers cold turkey, because I was developing a tolerance, so I just starting using ibuprofen when needed. I also took a lot of Epsom salt baths (which calm and soothes the nerves), used arnica gel and an analgesic balm made to sooth sore muscles. The balm caused a warming of the skin and muscle, which felt really good. Regarding exercise, I think it is better to wait to do a lot of upper body workouts, and to take it slow, because he could end up causing himself more pain than he should have if he pushes himself too hard to get back to normal. At the same time, he needs to exercise those muscles to keep them strong, so it’s finding a good balance that’s important. I’m sure he will heal a lot faster than I did, since he is young, and if he only has one bar. It’s still kind of a shock for his body to have the bars in. My suggestions are to find a good arnica cream or gel to use as needed, and to also try using an analgesic balm when the pain get really bad, and to take epsom salt baths because they will relax the body and the mind. Drink lots of water, eat a healthy diet, and try to do some exercise without straining the upper body too much. I feel like anyone having this procedure needs to learn how to deal with the pain somewhat because it never really went away for me until I had the bars taken out. Maybe that was because I had two bars, and I was older, but there were some things I just couldn’t do, like crunches or sit ups and wearing a bra, because they would cause me a lot of pain. I also feel like going through this procedure built my character because of the pain I had to go through. Accepting the pain, instead of resisting it, I think will help too. This is probably going to be the most painful thing he’ll ever have to go through physically, so he needs to be patient and try to ease into a lot of strenuous activity should help a lot. Hope this helps!! Let me know if there’s any other questions I can answer!
Thanks for your reply. This is going/is a long summer. He is trying to kick the pain meds but not quite there yet. He has lost weight & that concerns me but I guess in general things are going as well as can be expected. His life is altered drastically with no sports. 😦
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I truly wish him the best on his journey to recovery. It’s not easy, but he will get there! I lost a lot of weight at first too, but I think it was from the pain meds blocking my appetite. Once I got off of them, my weight went back to normal.
Thank you so much for your post!
so the operation is more then 3 years from today.
what about the bars – are they still inside?
really interested in the “long time result”.
thanks a lot!