Pectus carinatum
Updates to Article Attributes
Pectus carinatum (otherwise known as a pigeon chest) refers to a chest wall deformity in which the sternum protrudes anteriorly. It is less common than pectus excavatum.
Clinical presentation
Patients may present with dyspnoea and exercise intolerance.
Pathology
Associations
- scoliosis (common) 2
- cyanotic congenital heart disease (uncommon)
- familial occurence is reported in ~25%.
Radiographic features
A pectus carinatum may be demonstrated on lateral chest radiographs or cross-sectional imaging of the chest. There are two patterns of sternal protrusion:
-
chondro-gladiolarchondrogladiolar: protrusion of the middle and lower sternum -
chondro-manubrialchondromanubrial: protrusion of the manubrium and upper sternum (less common); known as Currarino-Silverman syndrome
Treatment and prognosis
Treatment options include non-surgical external bracing, typically for adolescents 5. Surgical repair usually results in symptomatic improvement 3 with a variety of techniques include open Ravitch procedure, open or thoracoscopic minimal cartilage resection or the reverse Nuss procedure with success rates of ~90% (range 67-100%) 5.
Etymology
Carina is Latin for keel (as in the hull of a ship) 6.
-<li>-<strong>chondro-gladiolar:</strong> protrusion of the middle and lower sternum</li>-<li>-<strong>chondro-manubrial:</strong> protrusion of the manubrium and upper sternum (less common); known as <a href="/articles/currarino-silverman-syndrome">Currarino-Silverman syndrome</a>- +<li>chondrogladiolar: protrusion of the middle and lower sternum</li>
- +<li>chondromanubrial: protrusion of the manubrium and upper sternum (less common); known as <a href="/articles/currarino-silverman-syndrome">Currarino-Silverman syndrome</a>
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