Victoria's Pectus Repair

This operation is much easier than getting the bar in. You do not need to wipe your body down the night before and there is no other form of preparation other than not eating past 12am on the day of your surgery. You once again meet with the anesthesiologist, who helps you once again, choose a flavor of “sleepy gas”. You are then placed in a room where you change into your scrubs and then are brought into the operating room. This time you actually feel the “sleepy gas”, so pick a good flavor. Out of this whole experience, I think receiving the aesthesia was the worst part. The feeling of everything fading away isn’t always the most comforting, but soon after I woke up and felt really good. Although I was in pain, it was much less pain than expected. I even got up in the recovery room to go to the bathroom.

Unlike the last time, my sister was the one to get sick this time. Odds are, it was because of the medicine. Although we felt pain on our sides, it wasn’t unbearable and I was basically able to completely function by the day after my surgery. Then again, I pushed myself to get up and do things. I felt really good after getting the bar out, and I was obviously very happy that this process was over. Within a couple days, I was completely fine despite the bruises on my sides.

I find that the surgery is much more efficient than the vacuum bell, which is another method of chest correction. My little brother uses the vacuum bell and this process seems to be much slower than the recovery from surgery. It may take him years before his chest is remotely corrected. Personally, I think the surgery is the way to go. Overall, the experience was a tough one, but well worth it. My lungs have expanded over 40% and I’ve never felt better.