ZACHARY'S STORY

For all of Zachary Whitcomb's 13 years, he had an indentation in the center of his chest. It only took CHOC surgeon Mustafa Kabeer, M.D., a few hours in the operating room to correct it, using the minimally invasive Nuss procedure.

A sunken chest is a congenital deformity of the chest wall in which the ribs and the sternum grow inward. The effects are not just cosmetic. A concave chest may also put pressure on the heart and lungs. Zachary's chest was pressing on his left lung.

In fact, Zachary had noticed that he was feeling more winded than he thought he should during physical activities. When his pediatrician asked him about his chest during a physical last fall, Zachary said he was ready to have it fixed.

Until recently, the only corrective treatment was invasive surgery involving a large incision, the actual breaking and re-shaping of the sternum, muscle dissection and the removal of deformed cartilage. But kids like Zachary now have a new surgical alternative.

The Nuss procedure is a minimally invasive technique that works with a child's growing tissue. It uses a "U"-shaped, stainless-steel rod inserted into the chest to re-shape the bones and cartilage, and to keep them in place as the bones conform around it. The rod is surgically removed two to three years later.

Zachary spent a week recovering at CHOC, and then another week at home. Sometime within the next two or three years, Dr. Kabeer will remove the rod and Zachary will be all finished.

In no time, Zachary will be back to tae kwon do, competitive swimming, paintball, skateboarding and snowboarding!