The hospital introduced the Nuss Center, a 2,000 square foot, state-of-the-art clinic designed specifically to treat children and adolescents with chest wall abnormalities.

“This is an exciting next step for CHKD and an amazing resource for our patients,” says Dr. Donald Nuss, the center’s namesake and surgeon-in-chief emeritus of CHKD. “The Nuss Center offers patients a cutting-edge facility and clinical team dedicated to treating pediatric chest wall disorders.”

In 1987, Dr. Nuss pioneered the Nuss Procedure – a minimally invasive surgical technique to correct a chest wall deformity called pectus excavatum, also known as funnel chest.

Since that first surgery, the Nuss Procedure has become the internationally recognized standard of care for pectus excavatum. CHKD is now the leading center for pediatric chest wall reconstruction in the U.S. This summer, CHKD hosted more than 150 surgeons from 30 countries at the first U.S. meeting of the Chest Wall International Group (CWIG).

The Nuss Center is located on the fifth floor of the main hospital, adjacent to CHKD’s pediatric surgery offices. It features expanded exam room space, a conference center for telemedicine and consultation as well as an onsite workspace for physical therapists to assemble and fit devices for patients who can be treated using non-surgical techniques.

“The center marks another milestone for our chest wall program,” says Dr. Robert Kelly, vice president for surgical affairs and surgeon-in-chief at CHKD. “With the resources we gain from expanding our facility, we look forward to helping even more children and adolescents in Hampton Roads and around the world.”