A Comparative Study of Surgical Correction Methods for Funnel Chest

누두흉의 수술 교정 방법에 관한 비교연구

From Jan. 1981 to Dec. 1989 eleven cases of Funnel Chest, ten were males and one was female, were underwent an operation at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Cheonbuk National University Hospital. The age of patients ranged from 3 to 29 years old. They all had symptoms of feeling inferiority about chest deformity. The degree of concavity on the funnel chest varied in extent, and the severity which was measured by water volume filled into it varied from 20 ml to 140 ml. Nine patients were corrected by Ravitch method and two patients were corrected by the Modified sternal turnover method. The Ravitch method was more effective in asymmetrical, severe depression deformity and in children. On the other hand the Modified sternal turnover method with preservation of vascular supply of repair was more simple and more effective in case of relatively less severe, wide symmetrical depression deformity of the chest and in case of associated with congenital or acquired heart disease and disease of the ascending aorta. This method has the advantage of maintaining chest wall stability in postoperative period.