Photos of Pectus Excavatum (Funnel chest)

Definition :

Congenital posterior displacement of lower aspect of sternum.This gives the chest a somewhat "hollowed-out" appearance.
Pectus Excavatum is one of the most common congenital deformity of the chest wall "The condition is more common than Down syndrome".in Pectus Excavatum several ribs and the sternum grow abnormally, producing a concave, or caved-in, appearance in the anterior chest wall and a displaced heart which is often palpable on the left mid-axillary line slightly below the armpit.

-Pectus Excavatum is sometimes also called sunken chest or funnel chest.
-Pectus excavatum occurs more often in males than females (3:1) ,some studies say that this ratio reached 6:1 ,and accounts for 90% of congenital chest wall deformities.

Pathogenesis :

pathogenesis of pectus excavatum still unclear, and, to date, no known genetic defect is directly responsible for the development of pectus excavatum despite of familial occurrence of pectus deformity that reported in 35% of cases, investigators have hypothesized that the deformity results from unbalanced overgrowth in the costochondral regions.in other words; an abnormality of connective tissue (cartilage) sometimes associated with Marfan and Ehlers Danlos syndromes.

The "Nuss" procedure or pectum bar operation, This operation involves the placement of a customized, long, curved metal bar under the sternum. Two small incisions are made on each side of the chest to allow insertion of the bar. Another small incision is made to insert a thoracoscope, which allows us to watch the bar as it goes under the sternum. The bar is secured to the ribs on the side of the chest and pushes the sternum forward. Neither the rib cartilages nor sternum are cut. The bar usually remains in place for two years and is then removed with a second, smaller operation. The principle of the pectus bar operation is that the rib cartilage remodel while the bar is in place--similar to the remodeling of the mouth with orthodonture.