'Deformity' of the chest

[Growinglad]

Ok, this is a pretty big step for me as I'm attaching a picture of what a doctor described to be 'a deformed chest'. Since entering my teen years, the only people who I've shown is my Mum and a couple of doctors, I asked if surgery was an option but was told it would be too dangerous.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to make it less obvious? I'm afraid that if I put on weight, my body may become bigger but the chest would remain the same, or become even more obvious...

All I wanna do is be able to take my top off at a beach, feel confident and be able to get a boyfriend, I'm thinking until I get this sorted I won't be able to handle dating people for when they see my chest they'll freak out.

Cheers in advance for any replies.
Matt.

 

[jockboy01]

It appears as though you have pectus excavatum.

I would say you might be able to build up muscle to minimize it's appearance. Pec work especially. Although it is difficult for me to tell exactly what the result would be. I'd be guessing.

As you get older, both you and those around you will realize that what's on the inside is more important than the housing. Sounds trite, I know, but it's true.

 

[gotdimples77]

I GOT IT!! I will give you some of my back hair to cover your chest! then we can both go out on the beach together!!! I'm not poking fun, I'm just saying... pretty much everything is how you spin it. It could be worse. People will love you for you...people lust for you for their own reasons and there really isnt much you can do about it.

 

[WYSIWYG]

My husband has a concave chest, and it is most evident in the middle, but it makes his chest seem wider in my eyes. He always bitches about it along with his bent down tool, (when hard). I always tell him these are the things about him that make him unique....who he is inside is much more important!

You are unique physically and there is only one you! Celebrate instead of saying you won't date until this is fixed, etc. You have something to offer someone and it isn't all about your physical "faults", or attributes mate!

 

[Narcissism is fun]

I think, if I picked you up in a bar and you showed me your chest I would have 1 question: Does it interfere with your sex life?

You should definetly find a few guys to go on dates with and see what they say, you might be surprised at how they react. It's sadly unavoidable that some jerk might react badly to it, but I don't think too many guys will see it as a big problem.

And remember this: EVERYONE has something they don't like about their own body, you're not alone in that respect

 

[Horschallen]

THere is always pectoral implants and a plastic surgeon will be happy to talk to you about it. Should be much cheaper than a radial bone realignment surgery. In the meantime, try weight lifting that focus on your pectorals and see how that works.

 

[probable]

yeah, i think when/ if someone care about you and gets to know you, even a little, they'd look right past it. it's something you can't help, so no one in their right mind would judge you or think you're weird.

i can def understand being self-conscious at the beach or somewhere public, but remember, there's nothing wrong with the way you look... just different from what people expect.

 

[bigalt]

Looks more like Pectus Carinatum. Different degrees of it. Mine first developed about 11 years old. Can get worse later on as you grow and then stops when you stop growing. It totally robs you of self confidence.
Can also cause other problems with back pain and joints later on.

Some links you might like to look at.

http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1803.htm

http://www.pectus.org/

http://groups.msn.com/ThePectusListserve

 

[jackoroe]

I have to agree with jockboy. The easiest option you have is to do excersises for your pecs. Bench pressing, dumbbell presses and incline presses will make your underlying chest muscles grow larger. That will help to minimize what you've got going on there. Good luck!

 

[Growinglad]

Wow, thanks for the great feedback all. I've had a good read around & cheers for the links bigalt. I will start weight-lifting, and also will press-ups do anything? I'm quite good at them...
and I've decided if all else fails, I'll look into surgery in a year or two. But thanks again, very nice to have all your comments on it.

Regards,
Matt.