Severe cases of Pectus excavatum have been treated with invasive "rib flip" operations or the placement of large customized silicone implants. Metal plates have even been used to push the ribcage forward. Unfortunately, these operations create large scars and have high complication rates --and they were therefore reserved for the most severe cases. Sadly, natural-looking results were rarely achieved.Your situation -- which is much more subtle that what some men and women deal with -- is, nonetheless, of concern to you and to many others like you who want a more robust-appearing chest. Fortunately, we now have a great technique to build up isolated areas where volume is needed using fat grafting. Your own living fat cells are harvested from areas where you have more than you'd like (using a modified liposuction technique) and are transplanted to the areas of the chest where you need more volume. Scarring is minimal.Once the fat heals in place it is remarkably similar in both 'look' and 'feel' to normal pectoral muscle, giving the appearance of a more masculine chest. Depending on the depth of the original depression on the chest, my patients sometimes need 2 procedures to get enough 'fill', since we can only transplant a certain amount at one time in order to avoid killing the transplanted cells. The procedure is done on an out-patient basis and people are almost always back to work within 3 days unless heavy lifting is needed for your job. There's a 3-week downtime from working out afterwards or from any heavy lifting in the work place. The more minor second procedures can often be done under local anesthesia and have a quicker recovery. I hope to publish the cases I've done over the past five years very soon.
