Pectus excavatum. Surgical treatment: Structural or aesthetic?

Area of Science:

• Thoracic surgery
• Surgical correction of chest wall deformities

Background:

• Pectus excavatum is a chest wall deformity with varying presentations, from cosmetic concerns to symptomatic compression.
• Assessing surgical outcomes for pectus excavatum is challenging due to diverse patient conditions and limited long-term data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the experience of thoracic surgeons in treating pectus excavatum.
• To assess short- to mid-term results of surgical interventions for pectus excavatum.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of surgical pectus excavatum treatments.
• Analysis of cases treated with thoracic cage remodeling or custom 3D prostheses between 2021 and 2023.

Main Results:

• 36 pectus excavatum cases were surgically treated.
• Surgical interventions showed positive short- to mid-term results with minimal complications.
• Successful alleviation of symptoms and aesthetic correction were achieved.

Conclusions:

• Surgical correction of pectus excavatum should consider both structural repair and aesthetic goals.
• Structural correction involves thoracic cage remodeling, potentially including cartilage excision and osteotomies.
• Aesthetic correction can be achieved using customized 3D prostheses.