Abstract
Patients with pectus excavatum (PE) frequently present with complaints of exercise
intolerance and cardiopulmonary symptoms. There continues to be controversy regarding
the physiologic benefits of repair. The aim of this review is to summarize and discuss
recent data regarding the cardiopulmonary effects of PE deformity and the evidence
for improvement obtained after surgical repair including (1) a greater efficiency
of breathing (chest wall mechanics), (2) improvement in pulmonary restrictive deficits,
(3) an increase in cardiac chamber size and output, with improved cardiac strain and
strain rate, and (4) improvement in exercise capacity.
Keywords
pectus excavatum - Nuss procedure - pulmonary function testing - cardiac imaging -
cardiopulmonary exercise testing