Treatment options for 3-year-old babies with funnel chest include conservative treatment and surgery.
1. Conservative treatment: i.e. respiratory function exercise and suction therapy through running and swimming, which is suitable for children with a mild degree of disease.
2. Surgical treatment: the common ones are lifting surgery, reversal surgery, and the new minimally invasive Nuss surgery.
(1) Lifting surgery: After cutting the chest, a steel bar or stainless steel Kirschner’s needle is placed behind the sternum to cut off the excess ribs and then connect them to hold up the depression. However, it is easy to recur and more traumatic.
(2) Flip surgery: After cutting off the soft ribs on both sides, the depressed sternum is then flipped over, with the convex side facing up. This surgery is more traumatic and bleeding, and the result is poorer.
(3) New minimally invasive Nuss surgery: It is to place a steel plate behind the sternum and in front of the heart and restore the position and shape of the chest through the plate. This surgery can maintain the elasticity and ductility of the chest. It is less traumatic and more effective, and it is the mainstream surgical method nowadays.
A 3-year-old baby with funnel chest should go to the hospital as early as possible and be treated under the guidance of the doctor.