The treatment of pectus carinatum with the bracing after surgery for congenital heart disease: experience from a single institution

Abstract Purpose:Secondary pectus carinatum (PC) after surgery for congenital heart disease(CHD) has its own clinical characteristics.Conservative treatment of PC with bracing is an attractive alternative to surgical repair.This study was to investigate the effects of the bracing on treating pediatric patients with PC after heart surgery.Methods:We conducted a retrospective study of all patients who had PC after surgery for CHD with median sternotomy from March 2019 to December 2020.Monthly follow-up with anterior–posterior(AP) width measurements.The size of bracing is designed based on the patient’s anterior chest wall.Result:Twenty four patients (3/2019–12/2020) were conducted into this retrospective study in the clinic,and 22 patients(91.66%) achieved excellent correction.The twenty four patients were distributed into three stages(stage 1: treated for 0 month,stage 2:treated for 3 months, stage 3: treated for 6 months).We found statistically significant differences in the AP between stage 2 and stage 1(AP p<0.01),stage 3 and stage 2(AP p<0.01).The main side effects were mild subcutaneous hematoma,petechial bleeding and chest tightness.There was no children complicated with hydropericardium or cardiac tamponade.Conclusion:The bracing has been shown to be a safe and effective approach for the treatment of the pediatric patients with PC after surgery for CHD.