Pectus Excavatum (2)

1st May 2009 16:41pm

Well I went to the doctors surgery earlier as it was Open Surgery (so no appointment is needed, just first come, first serve) ... other than having to wait a whole 2 hours to be seen, then once I'd got called in, it only lasted about 5 minutes.

I went in and basically explained to the nurse that I have Pectus Excavatum and that it's recently been starting to give me grief. She asked what stuff is happening and I explained it all to her - about the pains here and there, the discomfort, etc.. etc.. and she then listened to my heartbeat while I was breathing on my chest and on my back while sitting. Then she asked me if I do exercise ... and I told her that I am not physically capable of running or jogging the distance from the surgery to the local HSBC branch without being out of breath and feel discomfort. She then asked the usual question that EVERY doctor in the whole of the United Kingdom seem to ask ... "Do you smoke?" ... I said "Yes" and then she ended up giving me the usual "That's not going to help" type of speech.

She then concluded with saying that there is nothing to worry about with it as your body seems to be fine with it and that it could be something that a physiotherapist can look at. (Right... so... the way you find out that your body seems to be fine with things is when they're causing you discomfort?! It's not like having stomach discomfort where you can just goto the toilet and drop a bomb and feel better! This is discomfort that doesn't seem to stop pestering me... and yes I am slowly going to cut down on the cigarettes.) She then went on to say that she'll call me before she leaves work (at 5pm) as she'll be having a little talk with some other doctors to see what they think about it. So I'm now just waiting on a call.

3 Comment(s) -:- Permalink

Views: 632 Tags: pectus excavatum, health, operation, surgery, nurse

2nd May 2009 0:16

Hi Dale

Thanks for the email.
Grrr the nurses response makes me cross! GP surgeries clearly have no experience of this condition whatsoever!

Have you Googled Pectus Excavatum & found support groups & surgeons that specialize in this procedure? The last link gives examples of symptoms that would indicate you may benefit from surgery.
As a matter of interest, how old are you now? I have read that surgeons like to operate pre-teens but that doesn't mean it can't be done on an adult.
Will you be needing surgery in the UK? I am not sure if it is available on the NHS but suspect googling "Nuss prcedure, NHS" may throw something up. My ex says he went to the GP & they said it was cosmetic & therefore he wont get it on the NHS. May differ from one case/GP/County to the next though?
If it really disturbs and affects you that much I would persist with your GP, if you request a referral, they are not allowed to refuse you.
I hope the following helps?
I look forward to seeing how you go on this.
http://www.pectusinfo.com/board/forumdisplay.php?fid=5

http://mmcts.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/mmcts.2004.000315/

http://www.attract.wales.nhs.uk/question_answers.cfm?question_id=1992

By Emma Rose

2nd May 2009 0:36

Hey Emma,

I'm 21 at the moment. Yeah, I've noticed a lot of places saying they prefer to do it on pre-teen or early teen years as the bones are a bit more flexible.

I would prefer something to be done within the UK as I can't be arsed to go to another country for stuff like that. I will do a search and see if the NHS have anything along those lines.

Well sadly my GP hasn't been in this week, which is why I ended up seeing one of the nurses, though I will contact the doctors on Tuesday - as the nurse didn't contact me back today