Chest Wall Deformities

What are chest wall deformities?

A chest wall deformity is a structural abnormality of the chest that can range from mild to severe. Chest wall deformities occur when the cartilage that connects the ribs grows unevenly. It is not clear why this happens, but the condition tends to run in families.

The two most common types of chest wall deformity are:

• Pectus excavatum, also known as funnel chest or concave chest, occurs when the breastbone pushes inward. Children with this type of deformity appear to have sunken chests. Pectus excavatum is the most common type of chest wall deformity, affecting 1 out of every 300 to 400 children and three times as many boys as girls.
• Pectus carinatum也称为鸽子胸部或凸起的胸部，是胸骨和肋骨伸出的条件。对于某些孩子来说，胸部的两侧都伸出，但是对于其他孩子来说，胸部的一侧可能比另一侧更突出。每1,500名儿童中约1个病情，男孩比女孩更常见。

Chest wall deformities often first become noticeable early, when a child is 1 or 2 years old. The deformity may be mild at first and become more severe during puberty, when a child’s bones and cartilage are growing rapidly.

Children with a chest wall deformity may have no symptoms at all, other than feeling self conscious about their appearance. However, some children experience difficulty breathing during exercise and are prone to respiratory infections and asthma.

Children with either type of chest wall deformity are at increased risk of developingscoliosis.

根据畸形的类型和严重程度，胸壁畸形通常通过手术，支架或根本没有治疗进行治疗。

Surgeons used to recommend surgery for children as young as 4, an age when bones are softer and easier to reposition. But too often, the condition would return, especially during growth spurts. Now, doctors often recommend waiting or not performing surgery at all. If they do operate, surgeons generally prefer to wait until the child reaches adolescence, after most of their growth spurts have happened.

How we care for chest wall deformities

TheGeneral Surgery Programat Boston Children’s Hospital is one of the largest pediatric surgery programs in the world. We perform more than 4,000 surgical procedures and care for an average 8,600 children each year.

We work closely with theDivision of Pulmonary and Respiratory Diseasesto evaluate and treat children with chest wall deformities that interfere with breathing.