"Funnel Chest" Surgery Not Only For Cosmetic Purposes

Main Category: Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 09 Aug 2006 - 12:00 PDT

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New research suggests that surgery on patients with pectus excavatum significantly improves cardiovascular function, contradicting arguments that the procedure offers only cosmetic benefits. Researchers from Nebraska and California conducted a metaanalysis that included 169 patients with the chest wall deformity, also known as "funnel chest." Patient data were pulled from eight original investigations from 1960 to 2005, which met five inclusion criteria, including duration between pre- and postoperative assessments and quantitative measures of cardiovascular function. Researchers concluded that the average cardiovascular lung function increased by greater than one-half standard deviation following surgery.

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Source: Newsbriefs from the journal Chest, August 2006

This study appears in the August issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians

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