Dr. Dawn Jaroszewski

After how wonderful Dr J. and her staff have been to me, I felt compelled to write a review and contribute to help others with Pectus conditions who might be looking for answers just as I had been.

I had lived with Pectus Excavatum my entire life. Up until this year (2014), I had no idea it even had a name. Every Doctor I came across Never knew what I had. I always asked "what is this in my chest and how can I fix this?" In response I was always told "it's a deformity, and you just gatta live with it". I finally decided to research for myself and I'm glad I did. A youtube video led me to find Dr. J.

After visiting Mayo clinic in March of 2014, I had full confidence in Dr. Dawn. Four months later in July, I was back in Phoenix for my Nuss procedure. Since the staff made me feel so comfortable, I wasn't scared to have the surgery; Rather I was relieved & excited. When the Surgery was over and I woke up I was happy, thirsty, and my pain level was surprisingly very low. After a couple days, my recovery was moving along quite rapidly . The nurses were also all wonderful people, attentive, and always there when you needed a hand. On a scale of 1-10 what my pain level never surpassed 2.

Dr Jaroszewski, Dr. Neel, Kelly, Marianne, and the whole staff are truly wonderful people. They are kind, informative, caring, and knowledgeable. Everyone makes you feel comfortable and welcome. They know everything there is to know about Pectus conditions. If you've had questions all your life, Dr. J and her staff have the answers. Most importantly, they all sincerely care about each and every one of their patients.

Almost 4 weeks into recovery, and I'm truly happy. I don't have to worry about being at a loss of breath doing simple tasks or be concerned about taking my shirt off at a pool or beach. Dr. Dawn is a grade A Surgeon and the entire staff at Mayo Clinic are a fantastic group of people. I'm thankful and blessed to have come across the Mayo clinic.

Parents Perspective: My son just had a Nuss procedure to correct a previous Nuss surgery done in 2010 at 17 and Pectus Excavatum. I want to start off by giving some back story on the first surgery that we had done to correct PE with a Haller index of 3.2. My son went in to the surgery to have 2 bars placed and correct his misaligned ribs. The surgeon ended up placing only 1 bar and didn't address any of the rib flare or misalignment, he ended up keeping the bar in for 3 years and his chest ended up collapsing under the 1 and only bar placed so he ended up having a 4.2 Haller index previous to this last surgery. The surgeon didn't request any x-rays in the 3 years that he had the bar in and post-surgery care was the worst. We didn't see the surgeon for several days after and pain management was none existent. He spent 8 days in the hospital, lost 10lbs and vomited constantly because of the pain and the meds, to say I was nervous to have him go through this experience again is an understatement. When we got the referral to Dr. Jaroszewski I gave them a call and explained to her Coordinator Kelly about our prior experience, she was incredibly nice and understanding and it was apparently not the first time she had heard this kind of horror story. We traveled from out of state to go and have a consultation with Dr. J and her team and they were just amazing. Immediately upon looking at the pictures from the first surgery she explained that the bar had been misplaced almost immediately which made complete sense considering the no x rays after. I spoke numerous times to Dr. J's team prior to my sons 2nd surgery, as you can imagine all the anxiety and questions I bombarded them with and they were all patient, understanding and kind. The surgery went better than I could have ever expected, Kelly came in person and updated me during the surgery because it took a little longer than they thought because of all the issues Dr. J had to address. She was able to place 3 bars, realign his ribs and put them down to a correct position. This Woman is Amazing! He woke up in recovery looked at his chest and couldn't believe it. The first thing he said to Dr. J when he spoke to her the next day is "You have changed my life". Anyone reading this is doing research for this procedure to be done and understands the significance of this. His chest had been sitting on his heart, lungs and liver he had no stamina and his self-esteem had taken quit a beating for a long time. Now let me speak about the post-surgery care, the entire floor of the hospital is dedicated to Pectus patients, Heart & Lung transplants. They have this down, the pain management was excellent!!! We saw Dr. J daily, her team daily, they are hands on with the after care and the protocol for the pain management should be used in every hospital. My son was never sick, he lost no weight, he walked daily and the nurses were the absolute best. He is 5 weeks out, looks and feels great and we are forever grateful. If you are looking for a surgeon go and meet Dr. J and her team, I cannot recommend them enough and would not recommend going anywhere else.

Dr Jaroszewski and her team at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona are top notch! In my opinion Dr J is the best Pectus surgeon in the world and after doing my research I would not have trusted my life in anyone else's hands.

I was born with pectus excavatum and I didn’t even know what my chest condition was called until age 33. By then it became unbearable for me to live with. My sternum was pushing in on my heart and lungs. I had chest and back pains, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing and I was fatigued everyday. Several people in an online support group were among the first to tell me about Dr Jaroszewski and from there Kelly Myers, Dr J’s pectus coordinator, worked with me so I could actually travel to Phoenix for surgery.

Dr J and her team quickly answered every question and calmed every nerve that I had. They are so knowledgeable and kind and made me feel comfortable in a way I never felt before. I was always told my entire life that my chest condition was just cosmetic even though I could feel the symptoms. Dr J and her team cared enough to listen to my every concern and offered me a way to fix them.

The surgery was very painful, but they are experts at pain management. The first day I was on morphine and then was switched to oral medication and the On-Q pump. On day two I was up and walking around and even was able to go outside. My pain may have spiked at about a five or six, but with the push of a button someone was there to alleviate my pain. On day three I was checked out of the hospital.

What Dr Jaroszewski did for me was truly life changing and even made me rethink the goals in my life. As of today I’m only eight weeks post op, but I have already begun to spread awareness and to reach out and help others with pectus. Dr Jaroszewski’s YouTube videos alone contain vast amounts of knowledge. I highly recommend watching them and reading everything on her site drjpectus.com if you are considering surgery. As for myself, I have been documenting my entire journey to pectus surgery on YouTube and I’m glad to have Dr J be a part of my story. I setup a website so I can easily reach out to others and direct them to my videos and all the information that I come across such as links to Dr J’s site and pectus.com. Please feel free to contact me about anything.

I can’t recommend Dr Jaroszewski, her pectus team and the Mayo Clinic enough. If you think you need pectus surgery please do yourself a favor and call Kelly Myers.

my name is Marcelo Addario, I had surgery for pectus excavatum on September 10th 2020, I am 54 years old.

To me Dr J is like a movie star I've been watching her videos for the last two years before my surgery so to me she was a star even without knowing her.


I called her office after a failed surgery for pectus at the Cleveland clinic in Florida, the bar flipped three days after surgery and they were suppose to do the surgery again to fix it, but the day before I was suppose to have the surgery done, I called Dr J's office in the morning and Michelle and Megan arrange the phone call with Dr J on the evening.


Thanks God I had that phone call with her, next day they did removed my bar at the Cleveland clínic and on September 10th 2020 two months after I was at the Mayo clinic in Arizona for my surgery with Doctor J ( Dawn ).


All of her Staff were amazing, Carla Michelle and Megan helped me with all my needs to rush the surgery they were impeccable super professional.


Doctor J made me feel so good from the first phone call I had with her, she is definitely a genius but also a beautiful human being, she was very honest from the beginning and I definitely understood that it was going to be painful, remember I'm 54.


Now it's been almost three months since my surgery, and I'm beginning to feel better, I was in a lot of pain for the first two and a half months, I was freaking out because the pain didn't go down but I m finally beginning to feel much better.


I probably drove Michelle crazy with all my emails about the pain thinking that the bars had flipped again, remember I had very bad experiences with doctors in the last 2 years, but every time I talked or emailed the office with my concerns they always got right back to me with what I needed.


The only way I was able to stand the pain in the last two and a half months is because Dr J spoke to me many times after surgery and that made me feel so much peace of mind and I trusted her completely, also knowing that she is the best pectus doctor in the world gave me peace.

My chest looks much better, my breathing improved a lot, my heart pounding is not there , my shortness of breath not there , the pain is not over yet but I see progress every days.


If you are going to have surgery for pectus I will recommend the Mayo clinic , Dr Dawn Jaroudesky , Michelle , Carla and Megan , the whole experience was amazing and painful lol but the pain is getting better, while I was in the hospital Dr J came to see me everyday, and hospital staff were amazing.


I will also recommend that you stay in Arizona for one or two months if possible since you will have some concerns and it will be nice to be close to them.


Thank you Dawn , Michelle , Carla and Megan!!!!!
If anyone has any questions my telephone number is 786-277-2982.

The hospital was Amazing, as well as all the staff. Staff was amazing even way before I ever met them or got to the hospital. They have been helping me through phone & email long before my actual visit to Mayo. Only place that had cared enough to help before I was an actual patient. I had no complaints whatsoever about staff or hospital.
They also have a wonderful cafeteria & food list for your room. First night out of surgery they sent me food I did not like & it was no problem to switch. They put me on phone with lady & she took her time & gave me all my options.
There are also golf carts in parking lot that drive you up to the hospital so you don't have to walk. It was Free & driven by a very nice/friendly volunteer. It was so much help after the major surgery for my post-op visit & evaluation.
We also Loved the gift shop & women that run it!