Less extensive techniques for repair of pectus carinatum: the undertreated chest deformity

Although patients with pectus carinatum (PC) often experience moderate to severe symptoms, there are sparse published data about the indications for correction, the newer techniques of surgical repair, and the results. This study reviews clinical experience with new, less extensive, open operative techniques for repair of PC.

Since 1970, 154 patients (119 men and 35 women) with symptomatic PC (mean severity index 1.76) underwent correction at the UCLA Medical Center using modifications of the Ravitch repair. The last 60 consecutive patients had a less extensive open repair with resection of only small chips of cartilage medially and laterally, and suture reattachment of the remaining costal cartilages to the corrected sternum and ribs. For patients with chondromanubrial protrusion, two or three sternal osteotomies were used, and for those with concomitant lower sternal depression, a lower sternal wedge osteotomy was used. For most patients, a temporary support bar anterior to the sternum and cartilages was used for 6 months.

Each of the 154 patients with reduced endurance or dyspnea with mild exercise experienced marked improvement within 6 months. There were no major recurrent deformities; six patients underwent minor surgical revision of localized persistent costal cartilage protrusion or depression. Postoperative complications in the last 60 patients were minor and less frequent, pain was less severe, hospitalization was shorter (mean 2.5 days), and postoperative results were better than when more extensive repairs were used in previous years. With a mean overall followup of 7.9 years, more than 97% of all patients experienced a very good or excellent result.

New, less extensive, open techniques for repair of PC have low morbidity, short hospital stay, and very good physiologic and cosmetic results.