Question
How should a three-year-old child’s sternum problem be treated? Does Tangdu Hospital have a specialist doctor in this field?
Answer
Mild pectus excavatum usually does not require treatment, as it rarely compresses the heart and lungs. Only when the condition is severe enough to compress the heart and lungs, affecting breathing and endurance, should surgical treatment be considered. The surgical methods include (1) vascularized upper and lower sternum reversal or simple sternum reversal, and (2) costochondral settling surgery. Both procedures are quite extensive, resulting in noticeable scars and the chest cavity cannot be fully restored to normal.