[Indications and surgical technic for the correction of funnel chest and its results]

Treatment of funnel chest is only successful by surgical means. 425 funnel chest operations have been performed between 1956 and 1974 at the Surgical and Paediatric Surgical Department of the University Erlangen-Nürnberg. Different types of operative procedures have been compared with each other. The internal fixation of the elevated funnel chest with a metal strut is an operative procedure with the lowest infection rate, with less recurrences and the best anatomical and cosmetic results. The surgical procedure involves a double incision of the ribs parasternally and at the borderline of the funnel, the mobilised ventral part of the chest is elevated by a metal strut to an anatomically normal position. 235 patients have been operated on by this method. In 7% a local wound infection occured, there was one total recurrence and 15 partial recurrences. 4 years after operation 75% of the patients had an anatomically normal and well developed chest with an excellent cosmetic result.