For many of the adult patients that Dr. LoSasso now sees, they either did not have access to the surgery when they were younger or decided not to move forward with it for whatever reason. The procedure is still very effective on adult patients.
Historically, using the Nuss Procedure as an option for Pectus Excavatum surgery for adults is less common because fully developed chests are less pliable.
In 2014 the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine published a review of a long list of studies on pectus excavatum surgery. The study concluded that although the Nuss procedure is easier on younger patients, it appears to be safe and effective on adults in the short term, at least.
Per the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Innovation), “In our opinion, patients older than 20 years with a moderate-to-severe pectus excavatum should be scheduled for a Nuss procedure as the first option to correct chest deformity.”

Every patient manages pain differently. We have an excellent pain management team at Valley Hospital that will monitor your pain closely following the surgery. There are also various pain management modalities utilized throughout a patient’s care which consist of intercostal blocks and multi-modal therapy. Most patients feel very little pain following the surgery and are quite comfortable throughout their stay at the hospital.
Once discharged from the hospital, there is close monitoring of each patient regarding pain management, and the specific medications and dosing are individualized to achieve optimum pain control. Over the years, Dr. LoSasso, in conjunction with the pain service, has created a custom pain management regime specifically designed for the Nuss Procedure, which optimizes pain control.

In 1998, Dr. LoSasso heard Dr. Nuss’s original lecture about his new minimally invasive surgery to solve the problem with Pectus Excavatum. He immediately flew out to train with Dr. Nuss in Norfolk, Virginia, where he trained and learned directly from Dr. Nuss all that is involved with the surgery. From the pre-operative evaluation to the intra-operative procedure and the post-operative care. Dr. LoSasso brought his knowledge back to San Diego, where he performed his first Nuss Procedure in 1999. In 2017 Dr. LoSasso moved his practice to Paramus, New Jersey.