TY - JOUR T1 - Current Management of Pectus Excavatum: A Review and Update of Therapy and Treatment Recommendations JF - The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine JO - J Am Board Fam Med SP - 230 LP - 239 DO - 10.3122/jabfm.2010.02.090234 VL - 23 IS - 2 AU - Dawn Jaroszewski AU - David Notrica AU - Lisa McMahon AU - D. Eric Steidley AU - Claude Deschamps Y1 - 2010/03/01 UR - http://www.jabfm.org/content/23/2/230.abstract N2 - Pectus excavatum (PE) is a posterior depression of the sternum and adjacent costal cartilages and is frequently seen by primary care providers. PE accounts for >90% of congenital chest wall deformities. Patients with PE are often dismissed by physicians as having an inconsequential problem; however, it can be more than a cosmetic deformity. Severe cases can cause cardiopulmonary impairment and physiologic limitations. Evidence continues to present that these physiologic impairments may worsen as the patient ages. Data reports improved cardiopulmonary function after repair and marked improvement in psychosocial function. More recent consensus by both the pediatric and thoracic surgical communities validates surgical repair of the significant PE and contradicts arguments that repair is primarily cosmetic. We performed a review of the current literature and treatment recommendations for patients with PE deformities. ER -