What is the Age Limit for Pectus Excavatum Surgery?
Post recovery - happy patient!
What is Pectus Excavatum?
Both children and adults can suffer from pectus excavatum, which is the abnormal development of the rib cage in which the sternum grows inward, resulting in a noticeable and sometimes severe indentation of the chest wall. Sometimes also known as a funnel or sunken chest. People might be physically and mentally afflicted by its effects. It can be usually be rectified with minimally invasive surgery performed by Dr. LoSasso of the Center of Excellence for Pectus. The Nuss Procedure is performed with general anesthesia and require an inpatient hospital stay of 5–7 days.
Pectus excavatum can be corrected with the minimally invasive surgical technique called the Nuss procedure. Center of Excellence for Pectus has performed over 1,200 Nuss Procedures to repair pectus excavatum (commonly known as the sunken chest), on both children and adults.
What is the Age Limit for Pectus Excavatum Surgery?
Surgical correction of Pectus Excavatum in children was once recommended as soon as feasible in symptomatic situations. However, it has since been discovered that the outcomes are not as good in very young children, and as a result, it is now suggested that surgery be performed at a later in adolescence, ideally between the ages of 12 and 18.
There is no standard age limit, although it is more difficult to bend the sternum of older patients which could lead to greater discomfort. Ideally, the best time to operate on pectus excavatum (PE) with the Nuss procedure (NP) is between the ages of 12 and 18. As this is now a well-established technique, adult patients can also benefit from surgical treatment.
Studies from Esteves et.al and Pilegaard support the notion that patients with PE can be operated on during the third decade of life by the NP, facilitated by compensating bending of the bar, a stronger bar, and the use of potent analgesics, leading to outcomes similar to those in younger patients. Though the operation time in their case is longer than in young patients because some older patients need two bars—the postoperative stay is equivalent to that in young patients.
Some patients have been operated on with good results into their 50’s. The surgical indication will always depend on the type and grade of the Pectus Excavatum and the morphology of the patient, and not so much on his/her age.
Is a Pectus Excavatum Surgery necessary?
Surgery is an option for treating pectus excavatum, although it is normally reserved for those who have moderate to severe symptoms.
In cases where surgery is needed, the optimal surgical procedure for both children and adult patients is the Nuss procedure.
Although adults undergoing Nuss procedure may have a higher rate of complications, continuous technical refinements have significantly reduced the complication rates and contributed to the success of the procedure. As there is increased difficulty in performing this procedure in adult patients, the experience and expertise of surgeons at specialized centers are critical for successful outcomes.
With over 1,200 successful pectus excavatum surgeries completed, Dr. LoSasso treats Pectus for teens and The Center of Excellence for Pectus, established in 2006, is one of the only centers to also perform Pectus Excavatum surgery on adults.
