Evaluation of nonsurgical treatment for pectus carinatum

In general, pectus carinatum does not cause cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Therefore cosmetic improvement is the main concern of patients who undergo surgery to correct it. However, the operation is stressful for both the patient and the family. In addition, it is very difficult to conceal the resultant chest scar. We attempted nonsurgical correction of the chest wall deformity of a very young pediatric patient using rubber foam and an elastic band to compress the cartilaginous projection. The results achieved were much better than expected, and the deformity showed obvious improvement over time. Encouraged by this experience, we used this method in 5 other children under 10 years of age. Because the bone and cartilage of patients this young are soft and malleable, nonsurgical treatment is feasible. In our 3-year experience in using this treatment method, the results have been very satisfactory, with neither growth disturbance nor additional deformity of the chest wall occurring in any patient. It appears that the younger the patient, the more effective the treatment. The clinical course of 2 representative patients from our series are reported and the effects of nonsurgical correction of pectuc carinatum are evaluated in this paper.