Pectus carinatum patient Sean gets results after completing bracing treatment as an adult

Sean has recently completed his treatment for pectus carinatum and wanted to share his experiences to encourage other adults to seek treatment for the condition.

“Around the end of my college years, I remember my chest bothering me once again and decided to search for possible treatment. This is when I was dumbstruck to find that there were solutions, and I quickly decided to research the bracing option in-depth as this seemed the safest first course of action.

I ultimately came across a promising local clinic in LA and decided to go through the bracing process with them. I ended up getting a mid-quality brace and wearing it for 6 months while I was working full-time, and at the end of that time, I had to stop prematurely due to severe discomfort. I unfortunately didn’t get much correction out of that bracing treatment, and I once again had to accept that I might live with my deformed chest forever.

Fast forward 3 years and I moved to Japan for work and was still living with my deformed chest when I got hit with another wave of frustration about my appearance. Ultimately, I decided to look back into bracing therapy, and that’s when I stumbled across the London Orthotic Consultancy.”

Initial consultation

I had my initial consultation with Sam Walmsley (Lead Orthotist and Director of LOC) in early January 2020 and was immediately pleased with his realism and non-sales-ey approach. Sam was the real deal, and I could tell that he truly cared about getting a good outcome for his patients and that was all.

This was all right before COVID happened, and my original plan was to fly to London to see Sam, get fitted, then fly back to Japan and carry out my programme there with virtual check-ins. However, shortly after, the world shut down and I had to rethink my options. I temporarily put the bracing treatment on the shelf as I navigated changes in other areas of my life, but ultimately reached out to Sam again in late 2020, at age 26, and discussed with him the idea of doing my bracing treatment completely remotely.

The idea was to use the LOC Scanner app to get a good 3D scan of my chest, send it to Sam and hop on a few calls with him so we could really get a good measurement of my chest. Ultimately Sam ended up sending me the brace in early December 2020, along with a few tools and extra parts in case I needed to adjust the brace myself while in Japan. From here I successfully completed the bracing programme as a 26-year-old.”

Treatment

Over the initial months, I checked in regularly with Sam and was able to wear the brace up to 23 hours a day within a month or so. I was sleeping in the brace fine soon as well, and one big thing I can say for sure is that this brace was much more comfortable and higher quality than the one I tried previously in LA.

I think for me, there was a turning point about 5 or 6 months in; while I had seen an improvement in my chest shape as quickly as 6 – 8 weeks in, my skin issues and general discomfort were really a barrier to me feeling optimistic about the process.

But somewhere around the 5-month mark, I finally got a handle on the skin issues, and had Sam send a new brace pad that I thought would better suppress my deformity, and also the chest shape started really changing.

At this point, I felt a lot more confident about the process and was also used to wearing the brace so much that the next 6 months seemed much more doable to me.

The last six months were about me continuing to exercise, and eventually, start transitioning from just stretch exercises to heavier weightlifting exercises. The idea behind weightlifting is that it applies stress and pressure to your chest bone, which is in a new and still impermanent shape, and so this stress should theoretically sort of cement your chest in place.

The last months of treatment carried on like this – wearing the brace all day, working out hard, taking the brace off for a shower, and repeat. It was finally around January 2022 (over a year after initially starting the treatment) that Sam and I agreed to start winding down. We started by taking the brace off for 2 hours a day, seeing how my chest responded, then slowly working our way up to 5, 6, 8 hours, and then eventually nighttime only.

At this point I was just so happy to be out of the brace for the day, it felt like coming out of prison and being a free man again.

I encourage anybody thinking about pectus bracing to strongly consider LOC, as I wholeheartedly recommend them, I am also willing to speak with others who want to get more info or have any questions.

It’s a rare deformity, and thus can be a lonely experience when you feel you are the only person in the world with your deformed chest but know that you are not alone – there are thousands of others going through the same thing, and many of those people have successfully treated the issue, even as an adult.”

You can see Sean talking to Sam about his pectus treatment in the above pectus testimonial Youtube video.

For patients considering our non-surgical treatments for pectus carinatum, the initial virtual consultation is free with no obligation to proceed. During the consultation, one of LOC’s clinicians will examine your chest and general posture.

If the clinician believes that your chest shape will respond using the dynamic remodelling method and that you are willing to commit to the exercise programme, they will take 3D scans of your chest shape. Further appointments will be made for casting and fitting and you will need to attend the clinic for regular reviews.