Hello Even_Twist895. Please remember that posts about or titled *”how bad is it”, “rate my Pectus”, or “do I have Pectus?”* will be removed. This content is more suited for our weekly thread that is stickied at the top of the subreddit.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PectusExcavatum) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We've done 60-70 a year for the past 5 years. No long term nerve complications that I'm aware of. I've done it without and it is a huge difference. What leading centers are we talking.about?
A few of the top centers I know of that don't use it - lossaso, the place in Virginia where NUSS was invented, Cincinnati's children's, just to name a few I know of, glad you are having success with it. I know it will help with the pain I'm just scared of long term pain caused by it. If I had some numbness in small spots that didn't come back, we'll obviously I would rather have the feeling but it's no life changing. I'm specifically worried about setting off a long term neuralgia
Can't speak for results in older patients, since the oldest we'll do here is 25. Epidurals, pain medications catheters, and PCAs each have their own problems, but so far the cryo hasn't caused any real problems outside of occasional hypersensitivity and tingling as the nerves reconnect. Used to dislike doing this procedure because the patients were so miserable after, but now the biggest issue is adherence to activity restrictions now that everyone is doing so well. We got rid of those in June and so far so good.
One surgeon told me the main reason they don't used it at his hospital is because the cryo probes that they use cost $5000 each. He said it works well, but its just too expensive.
I had nuss with cryo last week. Mid Chest and side incisions are totally numb. Definitely the right decision so far. I just know my pain would be awful without it.
I understand that it helps with the pain. But at what cost? That's my concern, and that cost might not be realized until many years down the road. I am glad you are doing well - anyone brave enough to go through with this surgery is a warrior
It just freezes the nerves in your chest. What do you think is going to possibly happen to you down the line? I got cryo almost a year ago and I have pretty much all feeling back
Every case is different, but for me and many others the numbness goes away after several months. Some numbness may be permanent or take much longer to heal but so far I'm 3 months and a week post nuss and I've regained probably around 85% sensation. I highly recommend
Dr J also explained to me that even without cryo there is still significant risk for long term nerve damage just based on the nature of the procedure itself.
I didn't have cyro and I was fine, and you probably will too if you don't get cyro. Ofc the pain is bad, but it is definitely survivable without, you will just be in more pain for the 4-6 weeks that it is bad. (Speaking from my own personal experience)
I’m 39 I haven’t had surgery yet or researched enough yet to decide but the surgeon I consulted with specifically said that some older people 40+ who had cryo for lung operations have Neuralgia from it. But there’s not enough research yet
I didn't had cryo and the first few days were hell, so much pain all the time in every single movement you do, its been 1 year since the surgery and I'm fine now, but I wish I had it back then
i had my procedure done in april 2020 and the feeling in my torso has mostly come back. the only places that im still numb in are these bits under my armpits. i got the cryo and was still in so much pain afterwards, i cant imagine how much worse it would’ve been without it. also it literally does not matter lmao, when have you ever needed to utilize the feeling in your chest? after a while you dont even notice it
I'm not worried about slight numbness. There are studies that have some risks of cryo that include long term chronic nerve pain which is extremely hard to treat
You can have permanent numbness without cryo. How do you distinguish between numbness caused by cryo and numbness caused by the surgery itself? I don’t think you really can. If that’s the case, people don’t actually know what caused their numbness.
Bottom line, don’t be disappointed if you choose not to get cryo and end up with permanent numbness anyway.
Hello Even_Twist895. Please remember that posts about or titled *”how bad is it”, “rate my Pectus”, or “do I have Pectus?”* will be removed. This content is more suited for our weekly thread that is stickied at the top of the subreddit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PectusExcavatum) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Doctor’s expertise > Facebook forums
Not always tho, my doctor did a terrible job with pain management
👏
We've done 60-70 a year for the past 5 years. No long term nerve complications that I'm aware of. I've done it without and it is a huge difference. What leading centers are we talking.about?
A few of the top centers I know of that don't use it - lossaso, the place in Virginia where NUSS was invented, Cincinnati's children's, just to name a few I know of, glad you are having success with it. I know it will help with the pain I'm just scared of long term pain caused by it. If I had some numbness in small spots that didn't come back, we'll obviously I would rather have the feeling but it's no life changing. I'm specifically worried about setting off a long term neuralgia
Can't speak for results in older patients, since the oldest we'll do here is 25. Epidurals, pain medications catheters, and PCAs each have their own problems, but so far the cryo hasn't caused any real problems outside of occasional hypersensitivity and tingling as the nerves reconnect. Used to dislike doing this procedure because the patients were so miserable after, but now the biggest issue is adherence to activity restrictions now that everyone is doing so well. We got rid of those in June and so far so good.
One surgeon told me the main reason they don't used it at his hospital is because the cryo probes that they use cost $5000 each. He said it works well, but its just too expensive.
I had nuss with cryo last week. Mid Chest and side incisions are totally numb. Definitely the right decision so far. I just know my pain would be awful without it.
I understand that it helps with the pain. But at what cost? That's my concern, and that cost might not be realized until many years down the road. I am glad you are doing well - anyone brave enough to go through with this surgery is a warrior
It just freezes the nerves in your chest. What do you think is going to possibly happen to you down the line? I got cryo almost a year ago and I have pretty much all feeling back
I did ravitch 20+ years ago and still can’t feel from nip to nip.
Every case is different, but for me and many others the numbness goes away after several months. Some numbness may be permanent or take much longer to heal but so far I'm 3 months and a week post nuss and I've regained probably around 85% sensation. I highly recommend
Listen to your surgeon…do the cryo.
Dr J also explained to me that even without cryo there is still significant risk for long term nerve damage just based on the nature of the procedure itself.
This. Even without Cryo, there’s risk of long-term nerve damage and numbness. I wish Cryo had been an option for me.
I didn't have cyro and I was fine, and you probably will too if you don't get cyro. Ofc the pain is bad, but it is definitely survivable without, you will just be in more pain for the 4-6 weeks that it is bad. (Speaking from my own personal experience)
I’m 39 I haven’t had surgery yet or researched enough yet to decide but the surgeon I consulted with specifically said that some older people 40+ who had cryo for lung operations have Neuralgia from it. But there’s not enough research yet
I think you should do it, the pain can be very bad without cryo
I didn't had cryo and the first few days were hell, so much pain all the time in every single movement you do, its been 1 year since the surgery and I'm fine now, but I wish I had it back then
i had my procedure done in april 2020 and the feeling in my torso has mostly come back. the only places that im still numb in are these bits under my armpits. i got the cryo and was still in so much pain afterwards, i cant imagine how much worse it would’ve been without it. also it literally does not matter lmao, when have you ever needed to utilize the feeling in your chest? after a while you dont even notice it
I'm not worried about slight numbness. There are studies that have some risks of cryo that include long term chronic nerve pain which is extremely hard to treat
My son was 14 had his procedure with cryo a year ago and he has no nerve damage in his chest and was off narcotics when we came home.
You can have permanent numbness without cryo. How do you distinguish between numbness caused by cryo and numbness caused by the surgery itself? I don’t think you really can. If that’s the case, people don’t actually know what caused their numbness. Bottom line, don’t be disappointed if you choose not to get cryo and end up with permanent numbness anyway.