 A teenager with pectus excavatum Pectus Excavatum is a congenital deformity that causes the sternum to be depressed into the chest causing a "caved-in" look. It causes decreased lung capacity and often chest and back pain. This condition occurs once in every 500 children, normally in males. The condition often becomes worse during the teenage years.
Treatment
The Ravitch technique is an invasive surgery that was developed in the 1950s to treat the condition. Since then, Dr. Donald Nuss has developed a technique that is minimally invasive. The Nuss technique involves inserting a convex steel bar into the chest to bring out the sternum.
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