A MINI-INVASIVE TECHNIQUE FOR THE TREATMENT OF PECTUS EXCAVATUM

Key words: Pectus excavatum, Nuss’s bar

Pectus excavatum is a congenital deformity characterized by a concavity of the sternum, and occurs in 1/1000 children. In a small proportion of cases, the malformation is severe enough to require surgical correction, usually in adolescent age. This invasive approach, wich implies resection of cartilage and bone, has been progressively abandoned due to significant complication rate and disappointing results in 5-36% of cases. A new technique, first utilized by Donald Nuss in 1987, to reshape the chest of adolescents with severe malformations, is described. This technique implies the use of a bar (the pectus bar) and a thoracoscope and allows to achieve excellent long-term results in a short time and with no complications.