Hey all,Just wanted to take a moment to talk about my experience with Dr. Barry LoSasso, Allison Tan (MS PA-C) and the wonderful center of excellence for Pectus team based out of Paramus New Jersey. I'm 28 years old and decided to finally speak with an expert in August of 2020. I was tremendously fortunate that Dr. LoSasso moved his practice to New Jersey from California which meant he was only a 30 minute drive from me. Most of my life I had been dismissed by my doctors when I asked them about my Pectus that began to get worse in my late teens. They would often give me weird looks or brush me off. That is not the case when you meet Dr. LoSasso and Allison. I was a nervous wreck going in but those feelings evaporated as soon as we started talking. They are the kind, attentive and make you feel like they want to take care of you. I of course brought a full 4 pages of questions and Allison took all of the time needed to answer them.After the initial meeting them, they determined that I had a relatively moderate case and should be further evaluated. As soon as they gave me the list of tests I would need I hit the ground running and was able to get all of the preoperative testing done in about a month and a half.When everything was said and done I had a haller index of 4.7 and was found that there was indeed compression on my heart. Im an avid runner and weight trainer and as I got older I was starting to feel fatigued and plateauing in my workouts. After evaluating the results, Dr.LoSasso and Allison Determined that I would indeed need to go forward with the Nuss procedure with at least two bars. Fast forward to October 30th, 2020 I was sitting in the pre op room, away from my family because I didn't want to risk exposing them to covid. I was a nervous wreck. shaking, crying etc. I had never had any sort of operation done before so this was all new to me. However the moment that the amazing Valley hospital Medical team that would be looking over me came to say hi I started to relax. They were cool, calm and confident. They reassured me that I would be taken care of and only had only great things to say about Dr. LoSasso and how much of a pro he was. They talked about him like he was living legend known throughout the hospital. Then Allison came to hang out with me as we waited a little longer for go time. She sat with me and helped me calm down, saying she would be there with me the whole time. Dr. LoSasso came by soon after to just go over the procedure. I was struck by how much of a calming presence he has which is something I noticed the first time I met him those months ago. When the time came, They wheeled me into the OR, Allison holding my hand, good on her promise to be with me the whole way through. I got inside, they played some Frank Ocean for me and before I knew it I drifted off.9-10 hours later I woke up a little groggy, probably saying some embarrassing stuff and two bars living rent free in my chest.but I made it. Dr.Losasso and Allison were thrilled with the results. The operation was a success. but in no where near the amount of pain I expected (granted I had some serious pain killers pumping through my body, But Dr. LoSasso uses a nerve blocking agent called exparell that is highly effective. It releases slowly to block pain so that by the time it is out of your system you are in a good rhythm of pain medicine to reduce any pain. I was in the hospital for about 4 days being taken care of the most amazing Nurses and medical experts at the Valley hospital. Pain was a 2/3 out of 10 the whole time, taken care of my the amazing medical and nursing staff at the Valley Hospital. They were nothing but patient with me and encouraging me. It was also cool to talk to the nurses who had heard that the Nuss procedure was being done at the hospital but hadn't had the chance to work with patients who had it done. Dr. LoSasso and Allison always checked in to see how I was doing and made sure I wasn't in too much pain.So fast forward to the recovery stage. The pain was never out of control. It took a few days to get to used to sleeping in a recliner and the medicine schedule (Waking up at random hours so you don't miss your next dose) but after a few weeks I was in a good routine. I Could go on pretty long walks and it felt great to be able to stretch my legs and start recovering. PT is a must for the recovery process and Dr. LoSasso and Allison help you figure those next steps along the way. I started PT and that went so well that by my 3 month post op Appointment I go the go ahead to start exercising and jogging again. Jogging has been a little slow to get back into but its amazing how quickly I noticed my stamina improve. Now Im back to weight training, HIT training at PT and all of the other things I love to do.I owe so much to Dr. Losasso, Allison and their entire center of excellence team. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!