I am posting to this forum rather than a neurology forum because my question is regarding thoracic surgery. My son was diagnosed with severe general myasthenia gravis fifteen years ago when he was six years old. He had a thymectomy at that time. The thymectomy was done by sternotomy rather than by the less invasive procedure, and his sternum was closed with wire. He is now twenty-one years old, and he is a 6’ 4” tall, young man weighing 210 pounds. For the past year, he has been having chest pain centered on the sternum. The family doctor has sent him for tests and said his heart is fine, and that the pain has no explanation and may be in his head. I don’t think the doctor has considered that the sternal wires could be causing the pain. A thymectomy at age six is fairly uncommon, but I was wondering if someone from this forum might have encountered delayed pain caused by sternotomy wires, since open heart surgery is performed on more young children as compared to thymectomy on young children. Is it possible that the wires could be causing sternal pain because my son has grown so much since the wires were put in place? If the wires are the possible source of his sternal pain, might this be sufficient reason to remove the wires? Is removal of the wires a dangerous procedure?