pectus excavatum funnel chest" ???

Can anyone tell us if this is cause to be concerned. We are very concerned. Will call pediatrician today.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• pectus
• excavatum

[athenamilis]

Silly, the belly button hasn't fallen off yet in this pic. That's what it looks like after the doctors cut the umbilical cord and tie it off. It usually falls off after two weeks.

[athenamilis]

Thank you so much for your post. I almost let the terror I felt that day pass out of my mind, but I think I need to remain alert and look for the things you mentioned as he grows. He does have athma and we have to give him breathing treatments for wheezing two times a day. Perhaps these things are related. I have changed pediatricians since filming this video. I think it might be a good idea to show the new doc this video so that we can keep an eye out together.

[athenamilis]

No daddy doesn't have it. Baby is One now and it doesn't show as much. There is great hope!

[athenamilis]

Thank you for your response. I have noticed at 6 months the baby is wheezing a lot. The doc has him on Abuterol and believes he may have asma. He dismissed the excavatum theory even after I played the video for him. We are changing pediatricians this month. I will bring all this up to the new doc. Wish me luck!

[Irishnozz]

might be a starting of a pigeon chest (the lump), dont think its pectus excavatum, but it looks like his chest is quite weak so you should mos deffinatley consult your doctor. Im suprised you didn't do that before you made a video about it.

[athenamilis]

We made the video and took it to the doctor. He was so happy to be able to see the video. He said it would be hard to make the baby hiccup on cue. I think the video-taped child behavior may be a new way of working with pediatricians. I'd love to be able to e-mail a doctor a video and get some feedback without having to rush in to see him for only minor concerns. As a new parent I have probably been to see the doc 15 times in five months

[PARKAV]

I am 33 and have just had surgery to correct my PE as it were squashing my heart. My son was born 7 days ago and looks exactly the same as your video. I am totally devastated that I have passed this hideous condition on to him! This condition has plagued me for 21 years and now it lives on in my son. UK.

[djnee]

@djnee So when i took her to the doctors for something unrelated when she was 18 months old, i again mentioned about her chest, and explained that the hospital said that it "should grow out" and they then FINALLY diagnosed her with funnel chest. I was fuming as you can imagine. How could nobody have spotted this, even when I mentioned it after she was born? Luckily she is fine (now aged 6). We have been advised that if she has no trouble leading a normal life, to leave well alone.

[djnee]

Our 6 year old daughter was born (in the UK) with this condition, which is WAY worse than i've just seen in your video clip . I noticed it immediately after she was born, but didn't comment on it as none of the midwives seemed bothered by it, and i didn't want to be seen to be worrying about nothing. When it came to the check up during her 2nd week, i actually had to ask about it, as to me it definitely didn't appear normal to me, but was told that it would "grow out" during her first year....

[blessedandfallen666]

its funnel chest mostly in men but whats wrong with his belly button?!?!?

[secret1service]

I have slight pectus excavatum and it kept me from enlisting in military :/ Hope it isn't serious

[Spunkygal37]

Also note that our surgeon, at Riley Children's Hosp. in Indianapolis, said they prefer not to do the procedure, Nuss or Ravitch, until the child has reached puberty if possible because of the results of the procedure NOT growing well as the child grows. Bottom line...just watch it and be aware of your child not being able to run and keep up well with other children for no apparent reason. When they get in school, have your child's gym teachers also be aware of the condition.

[Spunkygal37]

Three criteria our surgeon told us they look for in terms of medical necessity: exercise intolerance, compression on heart and/or lungs, and the CT index, which is the measured by the distance from side to side of inside of rib cage divided by the distance from sternum to spine. A significant measure is anything greater than 3.2.

[Spunkygal37]

My daughter looked the same way when she was the same age. She is 17 and will be getting the Nuss procedure to correct it within a few weeks. She has always been self conscious about her chest, but we couldn't get the procedure in the past due to it being considered cosmetic since she wasn't symptomatic. My advice: get a chest x-ray and echo cardiogram and watch it yearly or every couple of years. See next post for criteria our surgeon said they look for.