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. 1969 Sep;24(5):557–562. doi: 10.1136/thx.24.5.557

Pectus excavatum

G H Wooler 1, Y A S Mashhour 1, J B Garcia 1, M P Holden 1, M I Ionescu 1
PMCID: PMC472049  PMID: 5348322

Abstract

The deformity of pectus excavatum is caused by a negative pressure in the anterior mediastinum sucking in the body of the sternum. This is usually due to the heart lying on the left side, leaving the mediastinum empty so that the sternum and costal cartilages are sucked in to fill the empty space. The operation consists of excising the deformed cartilages, mobilizing the sternum, and suturing the pericardial sac into a central position which corrects the deformity.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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