Wang Procedure
The Wang procedure, pioneered by Dr. Wenlin Wang in 2017, is an innovative surgical approach aimed at treating pectus excavatum (PE) across different age groups. With over 7 years of refinement and application, the Wang procedure has been successfully performed on over 2,000 patients, achieving excellent corrective outcomes. In 2019, the Wang procedure received official endorsement from the National Health Commission of China, making it one of the standard surgical techniques for treating pectus excavatum in China.
Compared with the traditional surgical method for pectus excavatum—the Nuss procedure, the Wang procedure offers numerous advantages. Its benefits go beyond less traumas and shorter recovery time; at its core, the Wang procedure prioritizes patient safety by eliminating the risk of cardiac injury—a critical concern in the Nuss procedure. Additionally, it can be applied to young patients under the age of 5, with more stable and lasting effects. The main reason is that the Wang procedure completely overturns the operating principle of the Nuss procedure. The Nuss procedure inserts the bars into the chest cavity, whereas the Wang procedure places a bar on the surface of the concave sternum to correct the deformity, thereby completely mitigating the risk of heart damage. In addition, the methods of securing the bar in the Nuss procedure and the Wang procedure are also different. The Wang procedure secures the bar solely at its middle section, which ensures that the bar will not hinder or restrict the growth and development of the bones, drastically reducing the recurrence of chest wall deformities after the puberty.
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Make a small 1-2 cm incision in the middle of the chest wall.
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Insert 3 steel wires through the incision, passing them around the sternum and the left and right rib cartilages respectively before they exit through the incision.
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Place a pre-shaped bar on the depressed bony structure.
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Lift the depressed chest wall with the wires, ensuring it fits the bar perfectly.
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Secure the middle section of the bar to the sternum, suture the incision, and complete the surgery.