Silicone Implant Surgery to Treat Pectus Excavatum. La Mesa, CA

I have a congenital abnormality of the chest wall called pectus excavatum. It is caused by abnormal growth/positioning of the ribs and sternum, and results in an indentation in the middle of the chest. The degree of indentation in my case (Haller index of 4.3) was considered “severe” by the medical community. To correct my condition, I first considered undergoing a surgery called the “Nuss Procedure”. That procedure is a major surgery – it is quite intrusive and involves all the risks of major surgery along with a long and painful recovery period. It is also normally reserved for adolescent patients – which I am not. After becoming aware of all the risks and potential problems associated with that procedure, I began to look for other less invasive options.

My research turned up a plastic surgeon named Dr. Tom Pousti who specialized in treating chest wall abnormalities like mine. During my consult with Dr. Pousti, he and his entire staff were very courteous and professional. He explained how they could have a custom silicone implant made to exactly fit the shape and size of my indentation. He was very optimistic about his ability to treat my specific condition, but was also realistic about exactly what I could expect. This option seemed very attractive to me since it was much less intrusive/risky than the alternative (Nuss) surgery. Also, I was a good candidate for this type of “cosmetic” procedure since, although my condition was considered “severe”, it was not so severe as to be impacting my heart or lung function.

Dr. Pousti performed my implant surgery in April 2015. The surgery and recovery all went extremely well and there were no complications of any kind. My post-surgery progress was monitored closely by Dr. Pousti and his staff. His assistant Daisy was very engaged throughout and I remember receiving many calls from her inquiring about my status – sometimes even after normal business hours and on weekends! The implant fit very well - essentially I didn’t even know it was there. Aesthetically, the result was very good, but the implant was visibly noticeable in certain conditions and I was interested to know if it could be further improved. I discussed my feelings with Dr. Pousti in several of our post-surgery follow-up meetings and he offered that it would be possible to further tailor the front face of the implant and blend it better with the contours of the chest wall. After thinking about it for some time, I decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Dr. Pousti performed this 2nd surgery to refine the shape of the implant in Jan 2016. (He did not charge any additional fee for his services for this surgery.) Again, he and his team did an excellent job with the surgery and there were no complications of any kind. All of our objectives for the surgery were accomplished and now I can say I’m 100% happy and the result looks and feels great!

Thank you Dr. Pousti for being such a skilled professional and for standing behind your work!