Student receives life-altering surgery

Sophomore Kai Kato noticed an abnormality two years ago, when he found a dent in his chest that continued to deepen. After he visited a medical specialist, Kato learned that he had Pectus Excavatum, a condition in which one’s rib cage and sternum develops inward, resulting in a sunken chest wall.

“As I started growing more, the dent deepened,” Kato said. “It was to the point where I could eat cereal out of it if I wanted to.”

A year ago, Kato’s doctor suggested that he have surgery immediately because adolescents’ bones reshape quicker and require a shorter recovery time. The two-hour surgery took place on June 23, 2015, using the Nuss Procedure. In this operation, surgeons inserted a metal bar through his breastbone, pushing the chest wall out to a normal position. Kato now feels the metal bar when touching the sides of his ribcage.

“After the surgery, it was really hard to breathe [so] I took short breaths a lot. The Incentive Spirometer helped me practice [my] breathing,” Kato said. “The nurses told me to use it every hour or so while I was in the hospital to get my breathing up.”

The Incentive Spirometer shows how much he inhaled every time. For the rest of summer, Kato rested. He had a difficult time swallowing food because of the pressure that the metal bar created. Since then, Kato’s condition has significantly improved. This surgery affected his life socially and mentally.

This past summer, his activity was restricted. Finally, Kato’s incisions began to heal, and he is now back to volleyball. All the encouragement and love Kato received from his friends and family in the last five months contributed to his recovery.

The metal bar will be removed in two years, once it has given his chest and back enough support. This operation will be more simple, for Kato will be going home on the same day as his operation. As an Associated Student Body member, Kato hopes to inspire others who struggle through a physical ailment.

“[Of] all the people [that visited me] at the hospital and at home, I’m appreciative for all those who prayed for me and thought of me, but now that I’ve experienced this hardship, I feel like future physical obstacles won’t be as frightening,” Kato said.

“I hope I can inspire others who [went] through something like I did.”