[Surgical treatment of pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum].

The authors present their experience with surgery of deformities of the chest wall in childhood. In the course of 1986 to 1992 they operated 93 children with the diagnosis of pectus excavatum. This number comprised 66 boys and 27 girls. The mean age of the operated children was 10.5 years. During the same period 17 patients (12 boys and 5 girls) were operated on account of pectus carinatum. The mean age of the latter group of patients was 13.5 years. 23% of the patients with a pectus excavatum had before operation mild scoliosis, two patients suffered from severe scoliosis. 76 patients after operation of pectus excavatum were followed up for more than one year after operation. In 44 patients the result was excellent (58%), in 31 patients the result was good. One patient developed a relapse. Fifteen patients after operation for pectus carinatum were followed up for more than one year. In 12 patients (80%) the result of the operation is excellent, in three patients (20%) the result is good. From the group as a whole seven patients had dehiscence of the wound after surgery, four patients developed a seroma in the surgical wound, three patients developed pneumothorax after operation and in one instance an abscess developed in the surgical wound. In the course of 1987 the authors changed the surgical technique in pectus excavatum from Jensen's to Holcomb jun. operation.