Patient's question:
My child is only four months old now. When they were born, we noticed that they had a sunken chest. However, at that time, everyone didn't understand much, and they were all immersed in the joy of having a child. My partner and I didn't take it seriously. Recently, the hospital diagnosed them with pectus excavatum. The doctor said that surgery might be needed in the future. Now, we are still considering it, and we haven't decided to treat it yet.Doctor's answer:
I'll translate the provided text into English, keeping the line breaks as they are. Here's the translation:"I'll explain funnel chest to you. Pediatric congenital funnel chest is a common chest wall deformity, accounting for 90% of pediatric chest wall deformities. Clinically, it is characterized by inward of the lower sternum and xiphoid process as the center, with the sternum and bilateral costal cartilages concaving inward, resembling a funnel, hence the name funnel chest. In some cases, the sternum is tilted asymmetrically on both sides, with both concave and convex features coexisting, presenting as an irregular type of funnel chest. Funnel chest is a congenital disease and generally cannot heal on its own, requiring surgical correction. The typical surgical age is after 3 years old. Minimally invasive surgery is now performed, with generally good outcomes, so there's no need to worry."