Camden’s Story: Surgical Correction for Pectus


March 20, 2018

For being an active seven year old boy, Camden would struggle when he suddenly had trouble breathing while participating in sports and other physical activities. Concerned, Lacy, Camden’s mom, scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician, who diagnosed him with asthma. At age 11, he began having chest pains. His pediatrician ordered an EKG, which came back normal, then referred him to a cardiologist, who ordered pulmonary tests, all of which showed Camden’s heart was fine.

Still trying to get answers, Camden and his mom scheduled an appointment with a geneticist, to see if there was a genetic condition causing Camden’s chest pain. All of those results came back normal. During this time, Camden’s breathing and chest pains worsened, to the point that even climbing a flight of stairs was a challenge.

Finally, Camden’s pediatrician suggested Camden see a pediatric surgeon specializing in the chest. Lacy did her research and found KuoJen Tsao, M.D., the Children’s Fund, Inc. Distinguished Professor in Pediatric Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Read full story