Life changing pectus excavatum implant.

Hi,

My name is Leanne.

I have a severe case of pectus excavatum. This means one side of my chest / rib cage dips / sits in alot one side and the other side is normal.

This causes me alot of stress and problems on a daily basis. I can't wear clothes that I would like to. Such as nice tops, dresses in the summer and even swimwear.

At the moment I always wear t-shirts, jumpers, and hoodies to hide my chest wall deformity. I will not wear a tank top, vest top, or certain dresses unless they are a polo neck type of dress, this means I can hide my pectus excavatum away from people seeing it or noticing my deformity. I have been bullied alot, because of how my body looks, which has caused me significant depression and anxiety.

This makes my life hard and my mental health is really suffering with this struggle I have everyday. I just wish I had a normal chest wall like most other women my age. This makes me feel down, depressed and my anxiety levels are through the roof.

I have thoughts of ending my life sometimes, as I feel like I am the odd one out and deformed.

This stops me doing things I would like to do. Such as going swimming, on holiday, day trips out, going out for meals.

I can't remember the last time I went swimming, due to how I look and feel about my pectus excavatum.

My pectus excavatum also causes me to have one breast that sits back alot further compared to the other one and is very noticeable. This also has an impact on how I look and feel about myself. This is caused by my pectus excavatum the surgeon has said.

If I got this corrected I would have a even looking, normal chest wall and my breast would not sit alot further back compared to my other one. They would both sit evenly on my chest wall / ribs.

It seems as the older i get my pectus excavatum is getting worse and even more noticable. This corrective surgery would make my life alot happier and make me feel normal and see myself as normal.

I would also gain my confidence back aswell, as at the moment i have zero confidence, this is caused by my pectus excavatum.

I used to go swimming every weekend as a child with my family, because i absolutely love swimming. But since i have got older i haven't been swimming for over 15 years now. I have tried to buy swim wear that would cover my sunken in chest wall, but I have not yet found anything that covers up my chest enough, as my sunken in chest is very noticeable.

I haven't been on holiday since a child. I feel like I am missing out on so much in life, and my life is wasting away having to deal with this on a daily basis.

I feel like no one gets what Im going through and I am all alone dealing with this deformity.

Pectus excavatum surgery is not available on the NHS as they see this surgey as cosmetic.

My opinion is different as I didn't choose to be born with this deformity. But that is their choice, so I have no other option but to try and raise the money to get this corrective survey done privately, or I have to live like this for the rest of my life.

The highly trained pectus excavatum surgeon, i met to discuss my options was very thorough of what the surgery involved and was clear of what his thoughts was on my case.

He said I have a very severe case and it is one of the worst he's seen. He also told me it is more common in men than women. Also with me being a women it can be more noticeable.

The surgeon has told me the cost of the surgery and the custom made implant is £9,000. That doesn't include the cost of the CT scan which I have to get done beforehand.

The custom made implant is made in France.

Which takes around 3 months to be made and sent to the UK.

I just need to get the CT scan booked, then the images are sent off to get the implant made.

I have also spoken to a lady who has had this surgery done.

She has had her surgery done by the same surgeon, who I would like to do mine.

This makes me feel more reassured, that I have chosen the right surgeon to do my surgery.

I trust what the surgeon advised me and I think I would be happy with the outcome I would achieve.

From my research, I have found other surgeons that do this surgey too. Their priced are alot more (around £11k-£14k) excluding the CT scan again. They are alot further to travel to aswell.

I have been to my doctors regarding this several times in the past years. But they tell me they can't do anything. ( Not available on the NHS )

So i chose to find an alternative way if possible.

I am trying very hard to save the money to make my wish come true, but this will take me a very long time.

Doing this gofundme is my last resort to help me get the surgery.

I didn't want to put this public, as it is embarrassing enough as it is, but I am really struggling, and I was advised to give this ago.

I feel this surgery would change my life.

Any help or donations are very highly appreciated!

I haven't added any photos of my pectus excavatum, as I feel really uncomfortable and also, being a woman, it is harder to show photos. I also don't want to get removed from the site for showing indecent images. I hope you understand.

I have included some photos to show the company who would make my custom made implant.

Also a few screenshots of my enquiry and consultation write up from the surgeon I went to see regarding my pectus excavatum.

I will keep my donors posted on my journey and my final outcome.

If I were to get more than I am asking for, I would donate the remaining money to help someone else who is going through the same as me, so they get the help they need to!

Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story.

If you could please share this, that would help me alot.

If you can't donate that is absolutely fine, but if you could share it for me, I would be very grateful, thank you!

Thank you again everyone!

Leanne x x