Pectus Carinatum

Overview

Pectus carinatum (bird-like thorax) is the second most frequent deformity of thorax next to pectus excavatum. In pectus carinatum there is a protruding sternum and adjacent cartilage to anterior direction. Since 1985 till 2004 there were 483 patients with thorax deformity surgically treated at author@s workplace, 168 of them (35%) with pectus carinatum. There were 136 boys and 32 girls who underwent the operation. Pectus carinatum is not the source of health problems in most patients. Psychical problems are predominant reasons for the surgery. Patients with asymmetric pectus carinatum or with a combined form of the deformity are of asthenic habitus, suffer from defective bearing, scoliosis, and respiration infections. In the latter patients the operation is indicated for health problems. In the group of the last 15 patients the authors compared the Haller indices with the results of spirometry before and after the operation. The comparison of the results of spirometry revealed a favorable effect of the surgery on lung functions. The size of the thorax deformity was evaluated objectively by the Haller index from CT findings. The Haller index (ratio of the greatest lateral-lateral dimension to the anterior-posterior dimension) was 1.87 before the operation and 2.32 after the operation.

Key words:
pectus carinatum, spirometry, Haller index