Effectiveness of Compressive External Bracing in Patients with Flexible Pectus Carinatum Deformity: A Review.

There has been a growing interest in the nonoperative treatment of chest wall deformities over the last few decades; with the advent of external compressive orthotics, similar outcomes have been reported compared with surgical intervention. There have been fewer major complications reported with dynamic compression bracing on the chest wall; however, the Achilles heel of this approach still lies with treatment tolerability and compliance. A Medline literature search was undertaken to evaluate the evidence concerning the techniques, modifications, and outcomes associated with external compressive bracing in the setting of pectus carinatum. Sixteen articles were integrated after literature review and data were collected on methods of assessing pectus carinatum (degree of severity as well as type), patient selection protocol (i.e., suitability for external compressive bracing), the bracing protocol itself, duration of treatment, metrics used to assess outcome, and success, compliance, and dropout rate, and length of long-term follow-up. Compressive external bracing appears to be a safe and well tolerated nonsurgical treatment option for young patients with flexible pectus carinatum deformities. However, there is still a need for robust level I randomized data from multiple centers with a clearly standardized bracing protocol, objective measurement of outcomes, and recording of results at the end of the bracing treatment program in sufficiently powered sample sizes over a significant follow-up period.

Sternocostal slipping rib syndrome.

PURPOSE: Classical slipping rib syndrome (SRS) can be subclassified based on anatomical location. We describe our experience with three patients suffering from symptomatic sternocostal slipping rib syndrome (SCSRS), a much less common variant of SRS. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of patients with SRS from 1988 to 2016. Described is our experience. RESULTS: Of 44 patients identified with SRS, three patients underwent operations for SCSRS variant. All three had significant pain and point tenderness at the sternocostal junction, and all experienced a popping sensation localized to this area. The mean age at onset was 14.3 years and mean time to diagnosis was 1.3 years. All patients experienced total resolution of symptoms following localized excision of the offending cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: A high index of suspicion based on history and physical examination are key to the early diagnosis of SCSRS. Excision of the symptomatic cartilage is effective for treatment.

[Costal cartilage structural and functional changes in children with a funnel or keeled chest]. / Strukturnye i funktsional'nye izmeneniia rebernykh khriashchei pri voronkovidnoi i kilevidnoi deformatsii grudnoi kletki u detei.

Congenital chest wall deformities (CCWDs) in children are severe diseases leading to cosmetic defects and diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The most common of these deformities are funnel-shaped (pectus excavatum, FD) and keeled (pectus carinatum, KD) ones. The pathogenesis of CCWDs and the role of costal cartilage structural and functional changes in their pathogenesis have now been not well studied, which makes it difficult to elaborate pathogenetic approaches to correcting these diseases. Analysis of the literature has shown that structural and functional changes occur in the matrix and chondrocytes from the costal cartilage in FD. Similar costal cartilage changes are observed in KD. It is still unknown exactly which pathological processes are present in the costal cartilage and how they result in the development of one or other type of CCWDs. The role of amianthoid transformation (AT) of costal cartilages in these processes is also unknown. It is not improbable that it is AT drastically changing the native cartilage matrix, which is one of the key mechanisms leading to changes in its properties and to the subsequent development of FD or KD.

Scoring of Deformed Costal Cartilages Reduces Postoperative Pain after Nuss Procedure for Pectus Excavatum.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to elucidate whether or not scoring deformed cartilages reduces postoperative pain after the Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum patients. METHODS: A total of 46 pectus excavatum patients for whom the Nuss procedure was conducted were included in the study. The patients were categorized into two groups, depending on whether or not the supplementary maneuver of scoring deformed cartilages was performed in addition to the Nuss procedure. Patients for whom deformed costal cartilages were scored were categorized as the Scoring Group (n = 24); those who received no such scoring were categorized as the Non-Scoring Group (n = 22). After evaluating the maximum stresses occurring on the thoraces by means of dynamic simulation using finite element analyses, intergroup comparison of the maximum von-Mises stress values was performed. Furthermore, after quantifying postoperative pain as the frequency with which patients injected anesthetics through an epidural pain-control system within 2 postoperative days, the degree of pain was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The maximum stresses occurring on the thorax were significantly greater for the Non-Scoring Group than for the Scoring Group; injection frequency was also greater for the Non-Scoring Group (average 4.9 times for 2 days) than for the Scoring Group (average 2.5 times for 2 days). CONCLUSION: High stresses occur due to the performance of the Nuss procedure, causing postoperative pain. The stresses can be reduced by performing supplementary scoring on deformed cartilages. Accordingly, postoperative pain is reduced.