[Funnel chest. New aspects since introduction of a minimally invasive surgical technique]

Abstract

For many years, a variety of open surgery techniques represented the "golden standard" for remodeling the chest wall of patients with pectus excavatum. This situation changed when a minimally invasive approach was first introduced by D. Nuss (minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum--MIRPE). This procedure was originally developed only for children and is based on the fact that the growing chest wall is still flexible. The indication for MIRPE is identical for both open surgery and the minimally invasive procedure. The new technique is gaining acceptance worldwide in the field of pediatric surgery, and older patients who resist open surgery for correction of their pectus excavatum now request the new and less invasive procedure. Most of them found their information via the Internet and it is noteworthy that patients, or their parents, are now looking differently at the indication for repairing pectus excavatum.