What harm can be done to patients with funnel chest

  The main danger to patients with funnel chest is twofold: the physical and psychological damage, which persists over time. Therefore, it is very important to have minimally invasive surgery to correct it in time.  First, the impact on the patient’s physiology. The sunken deformity of the heavier thorax directly compresses the heart and lungs, affecting respiratory and circulatory functions, reducing lung capacity and activity tolerance. Patients, especially young children, often have recurrent respiratory infections, cough and fever, shortness of breath and palpitations after activities, and even heart failure. Funnel chest is often combined with scoliosis, Marfan syndrome, pulmonary dysplasia and other diseases.  Second, the impact on the patient’s psychology. The thoracic depression deformity causes unsightly appearance, resulting in great psychological burden and personality abnormalities, a sense of inferiority and shame, reluctance to communicate with others, isolation, anxiety and depression, easy frustration in school life, and reluctance to carry out group activities. Many people are unable to fall in love and get married normally when they reach adulthood. This causes unspeakable pain to the whole family of the patient.