What is considered severe pectus excavatum?

What is considered severe pectus excavatum?

A Haller index between 2 and 3.2 is considered a mild deformity; between 3.2 and 3.5, moderate.; 3.5 or greater, a severe deformity.

How many cm is severe pectus excavatum?

A normal chest ratio is approximately 2.5 cm and an index over 3.2 cm is often defined as severe and eligible for the Nuss procedure. The chest CT will also show any displacement or compression of the heart.

How common is severe pectus excavatum?

Pectus deformities are the most common malformation of the chest wall, occurring in approximately 1 of every 150-1,000 births with a 3-to-1 male predominance. It is more common in the Caucasian race.

When should I be concerned about pectus excavatum?

In severe cases of pectus excavatum, the breastbone may compress the lungs and heart. Signs and symptoms may include: Decreased exercise tolerance. Rapid heartbeat or heart palpitations.

What is a sunken chest called?

With pectus excavatum, the sternum goes inward to form a depression in the chest. This gives the chest a concave (caved-in) appearance, which is why the condition is also called funnel chest or sunken chest.

How deep is a serious pectus excavatum?

The Congenital Heart Surgery Nomenclature and Database Project classifies deformities of less than 2 cm in depth as mild, those 2-3 cm in depth as moderate, and those greater than 3 cm as severe.

Is pectus excavatum unattractive?

Pectus excavatum (PE) is a congenital deformity essentially responsible for an unattractive aspect, much more rarely for compression problems.

Can pectus excavatum get worse?

For many people with pectus excavatum, the only sign or symptom is a slight indentation in their chests. In some people, the depth of the indentation worsens in early adolescence and can continue to worsen into adulthood. In severe cases of pectus excavatum, the breastbone may compress the lungs and heart.

When do you notice pectus excavatum?

Both the breastbone and the part of the ribs that connect to it are depressed into the chest. Pectus excavatum may not be noticeable at birth. By the age of two or three years, however, it is apparent. It can get worse during childhood and puberty.

Can bad posture cause pectus excavatum?

Poor posture often accompanies pectus excavatum with shoulders slumped forward and the upper spine curved forwards, as well as other spinal problems such as scoliosis. Simple clinical description of severity of pectus is based on the depth the sternum is pushed inwards.

Is sunken chest more than a cosmetic problem?

When babies are born with a sunken breast bone, called funnel chest or pectus excavatum, many physicians tell the parents it is a primarily cosmetic problem that will improve with age, but this may not be the case. Surgical repair of funnel chest can be successful, improving endurance and even asthma symptoms in some patients.

What are the main causes of a protruding sternum?

Growth Spurts – The most common of the three causes is seen primarily in boys between 11 and 14 years of age.

Birth – In some cases,a person is born with this problem.

Surgery – Although relatively rare,a protruding sternum associated with this condition could be the result of surgery.

What causes a pigeon chest?

Pectus carinatum, sometimes called pigeon chest, is a non-life-threatening condition. It’s marked by an abnormally outward protruding breastbone caused by rapid cartilage growth forcing the front of the chest cavity outward.

What causes concave chest?

The cause of pectus excavatum (funnel chest or concave chest) is still not explained properly. Researchers classify it as a genetic disorder. Almost 37\% of all pectus excavatum patients have a first degree family member that has a funnel chest. They also found out that it is caused and worsened by: Poor posture.