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surgery for rib hump??

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  • surgery for rib hump??

    I can't remember if I've posted here before or not... Haha I signed up a while ago but I don't think I had time to introduce myself and start posting. Anyway, my name is Emily, I'm 17 and I had my spinal fusion in May of this year.

    After my surgery I noticed that my rib hump at the back had improved a bit and even though I would prefer for it to be a little less noticeable I think I can live with it. The problem is that I now have an even more pronounced rib hump at the front. When I lie flat on my back my rips stick out about an inch on one side and an inch and half on the other. It makes me look anorexic and I'm a healthy size. Basically my entire rib cage protrudes forward at the front, A LOT. My back curves in so sharply that it's almost a severe angle. Also, on the left side (opposite from the rib hump in the back, which makes sense since the rib cage is rotated) the rib cage is quite noticeable. It always sticks out at the bottom, even when I'm standing and my side doesn't curve up nicely from my hips because of it.

    Does anyone else have this problem post-op? I had a bit of a front rib hump before surgery but it's much worse after. I asked my doctor about it and he said he can do surgery but would he do a thoracoplasty or is that just for rib humps at the back? My doctor explained the surgery a bit to me and it sounded like a thoracoplasty but we didn't really go into it much (it's something I'll be bringing up at my next appointment). I was also wondering if I had the surgery to correct the rib hump at the front, would the one at the back be corrected too? I've heard that this surgery is more painful then the fusion, can anyone tell me what it was like?

    I really badly want this fixed. Mostly to make me feel better about myself and how I look, but also because it causes some pain and discomfort, especially while lying down, and I'm sick of always bashing my arm against my riibs that stick out. Is it worth it to have this surgery for mainly cosmetic reasons?

  • #2
    I have the same thing, and it got worse after surgery. It doesn't really bother me all that much, except that sometimes the underwire from my bra will rub up against it and drive me nuts.

    I never really thought about surgery for that. I doubt my insurance would cover it since there's really no medical necessity - at least for me. I suppose if it were to interfere with breathing that would be a different story.

    I read about someone who had that rib taken out and used as the bone graft for their fusion. I thought that was a really clever idea.

    Good luck, and let us know what the doctor says!

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