I have pectus excavatum and had surgery to fix it but now it's coming back what can I do?

Hi Anon,

Pectus Excavatum is usually treated with surgery if it is compromising to your health. There is no other form of treatment but it may not be necessary if your current condition isn't compromising your heart or other organs.

Two procedures that can repair pectus excavatum are:

Highly modified Ravitch technique: Originally completed by a long incision across the chest to resect excess cartilage, reposition rib bones, and implant a wedge bone graft to correct pectus excavatum, the Ravitch technique has been recently modified as a less-invasive procedure.

The highly modified Ravitch technique is completed with a vertical incision in the mid-chest area to remove anterior cartilage. Two stainless-steel struts are placed across the anterior chest to support the breastbone and are wired to the appropriate ribs on each side, allowing the breast bone to be elevated. The struts are not visible from the outside and are removed after two years during a surgical procedure.

The Nuss Procedure: Usually restricted for adolescent patients, Cleveland Clinic thoracic surgeons use a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) technique to correct pectus excavatum.

Through two small incisions on either side of the chest, a curved steel bar (known as the Lorenz Pectus Bar) is inserted under the sternum. Individually curved for each patient, the steel bar is used to ‘pop out’ the depression and is then fixed to the ribs on either side. A small steel, grooved plate may be used at the end of the bar to help stabilize and attach the bar to the rib. The bar is not visible from the outside and stays in place for a minimum of two years. When it is time, the bar is removed as an outpatient procedure.

A separate, small incision is made to insert a tube with a camera to allow the surgeon to visualize the inside of the chest and insert tools in the remaining small incisions to complete the procedure.Your surgeon will determine the best surgical approach to correct your condition.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/pectus_excavatum/hic_pectus_excavatum.aspx

Rosa