RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
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
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 230
OP 239
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2010.02.090234
VO 23
IS 2
A1 Dawn Jaroszewski
A1 David Notrica
A1 Lisa McMahon
A1 D. Eric Steidley
A1 Claude Deschamps
YR 2010
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/23/2/230.abstract
AB 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.