The Institute of Chest Wall Surgery
Wang Procedure for An 11-Month-Old Child with Severe Pectus Excavatum
Medical History
Shortly after birth, the child was diagnosed with pectus excavatum, manifested as a sunken anterior chest wall. This condition often causes breathing difficulties and even severe abnormal breathing. Additionally, the child has suffered multiple episodes of severe pneumonia, leading to several hospitalizations without full recovery. Given the severity of the chest wall deformity and its complications, the parents are eager for early surgical treatment.
Preoperative Examination
The mid-lower part of the anterior chest wall exhibits a noticeable depression, accompanied by significant abnormal breathing. Moreover, heart pulsations in the anterior chest wall and a protruded costal arch are evident. The patient was diagnosed with severe pectus excavatum, which had caused significant compression of the heart and lungs.
Surgical Overview
The surgery, lasting only 9 minutes and 48 seconds, utilized the standard Wang procedure to correct the chest wall deformity. After the surgery, the deformity was resolved, restoring the chest wall to its normal shape and eliminating the symptoms of abnormal breathing.
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Wang Procedure —— Breaking Surgical Taboos for Young Children with Pectus Excavatum
The invention and application of the Wang procedure has offered a new option for many young children with pectus excavatum. Prior to its invention and application, patients typically had to wait until they were at least 5 years old to undergo the Nuss procedure. This was because Nuss procedure relies on the leverage principle, requiring a certain stability and rigidity of the patient’s chest wall.
However, many patients manifest severe chest wall deformities shortly after birth, leading to various complications and immense psychological pressure. What is worse, some patients may face life-threatening risks if they do not receive surgical treatment promptly.
Fortunately, Wang procedure has brought a turning point in this regard. The surgical principle of this new procedure is completely different from the Nuss procedure. Instead of inserting a bar into the chest cavity, the Wang procedure directly lifts and shapes the sunken sternum and costal cartilages. This involves fixing the bar onto the bone structure of the chest wall, making it particularly suitable for young patients with more delicate bones.
In addition, Wang procedure holds advantages in many aspects, such as surgical safety, invasiveness, operative difficulty, postoperative recovery time and so on.
Based on extensive clinical experience, the effectiveness and safety of the Wang procedure in young children have been well-established. It has long been recognized as an officially certified standard procedure in China for treating pectus excavatum.