Current Practice of Pectus Excavatum in Children

Pectus excavatum is the most common congenital deformity of the thoracic wall. Also called funnel chest or sunken chest, it is a structural deformity of the anterior thoracic wall in which the sternum and rib cage grow inwards creating a caved in aspect of the anterior chest wall. Even though in limited number of patients, the chest deformity may cause significant physiologic and psychologic consequences to necessitate corrective surgery. The cause of the disease is still a mystery, despite significant progress has been made in the past decades. The most important achievements have been made in the surgical treatment of the condition. Advancements in medical technology like: video surgery, better implants, better understanding of the disease by superior imaging techniques, new dedicated surgical instruments, etc., have been the bases for the modern treatment of Pectus Excavatum in children. Nowadays almost exclusively the surgical treatment is performed by the means of minimal invasive surgery with superior functional and esthetic outcomes. This book focused onto the latest achievements in the diagnostic and treatment of Pectus Excavatum in children.