Health Library

Pectus Excavatum

What Are The Symptoms of Pectus Excavatum?

Although some children have no symptoms, symptoms usually vary with the severity of the abnormality.

• Children with less severe defects often have mild breathing problems.
• Children with moderate to severe pectus deformities often have trouble breathing with exertion and are not able to tolerate exercise due to impaired lung and/or heart function. Lung capacity is decreased, and the filling capacity of the heart chambers is restricted due to compression from the sternum. These symptoms can be quite severe at times and may limit the child's activity level.
• Growing adolescents may also experience chest pain in the area of rib cartilages.

Younger children have fewer symptoms than older children.

What Causes Pectus Excavatum?

While the cause of this abnormality is unknown, the fact that it tends to occur in families suggests that genetics may play a role.

Excessive growth and structural abnormalities of the cartilage (tough, connective tissue) of the ribs and breastbone are present in pectus excavatum.

Also, pectus excavatum is seen in some inherited connective tissue disorders such as Marfan syndrome, homocystinuria, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

What Conditions Are Associated With Pectus Excavatum?

Some children (15 percent) with pectus excavatum also have scoliosis (curvature of the spine).

Some (15 percent to 20 percent) have mitral valve prolapse, a condition in which the heart mitral valve functions abnormally.

Connective tissue disorders involving structural abnormalities of the major blood vessels and heart valves are also seen.

Although rarely seen, some children have other connective tissue disorders, including arthritis, abnormal growth, visual impairment, and healing impairment.

How is Pectus Excavatum Diagnosed?

Diagnostic imaging tests such as cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is done to define the anatomy of the chest. The cardiac MRI has become choice over the CT scan. This is becomes the MRI shows cardiac involvement without requiring an echo and has no radiation exposure.

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and an echocardiogram (echo) may be performed. An ECG is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart, showing abnormal rhythms and detecting heart muscle stress. An echo is a procedure that uses sound waves to study the structures and function of the heart.

To check for breathing problems related to pectus excavatum, your child may have a breathing test done called a pulmonary function test (PFT).

How is Pectus Excavatum Treated?

Sometimes mild abnormalities can be corrected with a non surgical vacuum bell treatment while patients with moderate to severe abnormalities may require surgery, which is usually not done in children younger than age 8. Since children have softer cartilage and more flexible bones than adolescents, the operation is easier to perform on them and the cosmetic results are superior. However, good outcomes are now being obtained even in young adults.

Infants and very young children are usually not considered for surgery unless very severe abnormalities or other illnesses necessitate earlier surgery. 

What Are The Surgical Procedures for Pectus Excavatum?

Both traditional open surgery (Ravitch repair) and minimally invasive techniques (Nuss repair) are used to correct pectus excavatum. Both techniques generally improve chest appearance. They also improve the structure of the ribs and sternum, as well as the function of the heart and lung. Both techniques result in a return to normal activity and improved exercise tolerance within the first few months following surgery.

Deciding which surgical approach to use is based on a number of factors. These factors include:

• The surgeon's level of expertise with each of these two techniques
• The severity of the defect and its symmetry (in the middle or more to one side)
• The child's age 

Minimally invasive surgical techniques such as the Nuss Procedure have been used for more than three decades. With this approach, two small lateral incisions are made. A bar that has been shaped to the desired chest contour is inserted into and across the chest and positioned below the sternum. This is done using the guidance of an endoscope (instrument used to visualize the inside of the chest). The bar is held in place by sutures and by a small metal plate that prevents rotation of the bar as the chest is reshaped.