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Patient Information

Chest Wall Deformity Center


WakeMed Chest Wall Deformity Center – Treating Both Children & Adults

WakeMed’s Chest Wall Deformity Center brings decades of expertise helping both children and adults overcome the challenges associated with these common congenital and acquired problems. Whether you or your child has been diagnosed with pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, Jeune’s syndrome or a rare chest wall deformity, our expert surgical and support teams can guide you through your treatment journey — every step of the way.

Although most chest wall deformities present in childhood, WakeMed’s experienced surgeons can treat patients from childhood through adulthood. While the treatment options may vary based on age, WakeMed’s Chest Wall Deformity Center offers the most comprehensive range of treatments and procedures available.

We partner with our patients (and when appropriate, their families) to make treatment and recovery a smooth and seamless process from your initial consult through treatment, surgery (if indicated), and recovery.

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Common Chest Wall Deformities We Treat

WakeMed’s Chest Wall Deformity Center provides a wide range of treatment and procedural options for patients with the most common conditions to the rarest and most complex cases. The conditions we treat include:

Adult Chest Wall 
Deformity Treatments

Adults with chest wall deformities have several treatment options. Based on a thorough evaluation and consultation with our team, your surgeon will help you determine which option may be best for you.

  • Nuss Procedure (for pectus excavatum)
  • Modified Ravitch Procedure (for pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum)
  • Chest Wall Reconstruction (for complex cases)

 

Learn more about Adult Chest Wall surgery

 

Pediatric Chest Wall 
Deformity Treatments

Offering a wide range of non-surgical treatments and pediatric pectus surgery procedures, our expert team can help you determine which option may be best for your child.

  • Nuss Procedure (for pectus excavatum)
  • Modified Ravitch Procedure (for pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum)
  • External Bracing (for pectus carinatum)
  • Vacuum Bell (for pectus excavatum)
  • Chest Wall Reconstruction (for complex conditions/cases)
  • Treatment for Recurrent Chest Wall Problems

 

Learn more about Pediatric Chest Wall surgery

Experience Counts

Doctor looking at deformity

WakeMed’s Chest Wall Deformity Center is the busiest treatment center in North and South Carolina. Because of our decades of expertise and the volume of surgical cases we perform each year, our chest wall surgery patients report:

  • Better patient outcomes (lower complication rates, higher success, etc.);
  • Less post-operative pain;
  • Shorter hospital stay than the national average for chest wall surgery patients.

Although the treatment of many chest wall deformities is relatively straight forward, some patients present with unusual problems that may be a bit more complicated. Some patients and parents feel more comfortable with a "second opinion" about their case from other experienced providers. For that reason, at the WakeMed Chest Wall Deformity Center, we discuss such patients in detail at our twice-monthly patient conference, where we can seek input from all of our chest wall surgeons. Here we are able to discuss more intricate details in a small group format to focus on how to best treat patients. Please note there are no additional fees or charges for this service.
 

In addition, our team will carefully review each case prior to the first appointment to assess what consultative services and testing may be necessary prior to surgery. We make our best effort to schedule all services for the same day whenever possible — helping to facilitate a streamlined path to surgery, which is particularly helpful for our patients who travel to us from throughout the region. We are happy to help make recommendations for travel, accommodations and transportation for our patients throughout their surgical journey. Accommodations can also be made in the Heart Center Inn for post operative stays.


Out of Town Patients – For Your Convenience

WakeMed’s Chest Wall Deformity Center provides treatment and performs surgery on children and adults from all over the region. We know how hard it is to travel for multiple consultations and pre-operative appointments. That’s why we use technology and virtual appointments to minimize the amount of travel needed prior to surgery.