Will I have to get surgery if my only symptom is difficulty running?

New User

Just feeling really anxious here. My rib cage has always looked funny but it wasnt until recently that i realized it's probably pectus. Idk what my Haller index is yet, I'm waiting to get my CT. I'm a girl and my dent didn't appear til I started getting boobs so it's really hard to see how deep it is, but I do have pretty obvious rib flare. Anyway my only symptom is awhile back when I tried running I had a burning feeling that started after a few minutes of running and never went away- all my runner friends would be like "no just run through it, it'll go away!" well for me it never did. So I switched to hiking.

Now I've been hiking many times even up steep hills and never had any issues with breathing. So based on that I'm guessing that my pectus is probably mild or moderate at the worst. I'm really anxious that they're gonna say it's severe though and that I need surgery. I'm over 30 and terrified. Is it possible to have a lot of rib flare with just a mild case of pectus? Maybe from poor posture? And is it OK to not get surgery if you don't have any symptoms besides issues with running?

Posted Aug 29, 2023, 7:19 AM UTC

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