Ravitch procedure

The Ravitch procedure is one of the corrective surgical treatments for pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum. The costal cartilage is removed and the sternum detached before inserting a small bar underneath the sternum to hold it in the desired position. The bar is left implanted until the cartilage grows back; this typically take about 6 months. The bar is subsequently removed in a simple out-patient procedure.

Complications of Ravitch procedure includes:

While the Ravitch technique is not widely practised because of its invasiveness, it is helpful in certain clinical sitations:

  • in older patients, where the sternum has calcified
  • asymmetrical deformity
  • failure of the Nuss procedure

See also

Siehe auch: