Present tendencies in the surgical treatment of pectus excavatum

Among the malformations of the chest wall, pectus excavatum is undoubtedly the most frequent. It may appear in various forms and may show varying degrees of severity. Surgical correction by operation is mostly sought by the patients for aesthetic reasons. After careful review of the methods proposed by various writers for the correction of this malformation, the present writers emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques, especially in relation to the methods of stabilising the reduction. Finally, they report on their own case material and present some significant examples.