- The Pectus Up: minimally invasive surgical correction for the treatment of the Pectus Excavatum
- Process and product in constant improvement
- Comparison with other techniques
- Pectus Up Internationalization
The Pectus Up, developed by Ventura Medical Technologies in conjunction with the Pediatric Surgery Service of the Parc Taulí Hospital, is a surgical technique which has led to an important technological innovation in the field of chest surgery for the treatment of Pectus Excavatum.
The Pectus Up: minimally invasive surgical correction for the treatment of the Pectus Excavatum
The Pectus Excavatum is a congenital deformity, the most common deformity of the thoracic cavity, and is characterized by a depression of the sternum that gives a sunken appearance to the chest, also known as funnel chest.
This malformation of the chest wall can manifest itself in different degrees of involvement. There are patients with a slight deformity, practically asymptomatic, but with aesthetic implications, and patients with moderate or severe involvement, who suffer from significant physical problems and socio-psychological disorders.
This pathology usually appears in early childhood and when its degree is severe, it can have serious effects on the patient, since bone deformation can end up causing lung problems, making it difficult to breathe and other respiratory symptoms.
Heart problems can also appear, leading to a lack of adaptation to physical activity. Another frequent affect is a bad position of the vertebral column which, in some cases, appears as a true deviation or scoliosis.
In addition, the patient with Pectus Excavatum may suffer psychological disorders that may lead to a tendency to isolation and loneliness, which can be very relevant.
The appearance that this pathology confers on the patients’ chest can greatly affect their quality of life, making it difficult to do sport or recreational activities, causing self-esteem problems, especially in adolescents.
Pectus Up offers a minimally invasive solution to patients affected by Pectus Excavatum, greatly reducing the complexity and risks of surgical intervention.
It is an extrathoracic method with which elevation of the sternum is achieved without the need to invade the thoracic cavity or perform aggressive maneuvers to achieve it.
Patients operated on with this procedure highlight the low presence of pain, reduced recovery time and rapid incorporation into daily life.
The method consists of placing a plate at the subpectoral level in the area of greatest depression of the sternum. The sternum is then raised to contact the plate and attached to it. The implant must remain in the patient for a minimum period of three years.
Process and product in constant improvement
The objective of Ventura Medical Technologies is that the Pectus Up is the best solution for the treatment of the Pectus Excavatum, both for surgeons and for patients. Therefore, in recent years, small changes have been made to the procedure in order to increase the target audience, older patients with more asymmetric deformity, and the efficacy of the intervention.
Continuous improvement and innovation in the Pectus Up has evolved towards a more precise, more personalized technique and increasing its simplicity for the surgeon.
Comparison with other techniques
Surgery techniques evolve, modifications are introduced, and new procedures emerge. Currently, there are various surgical techniques that structurally correct this pathology, but the advantage of Pectus Up with respect to the others is that this procedure is extrathoracic.
In an article published in Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery, it is concluded that the main proven advantage of Pectus Up compared to other techniques is that it prevents invasion of the mediastinum and pleural cavity, thereby reducing complications and the risk of organ injury.
In addition, with the results obtained during the initial clinical trial, a comparative study was carried out between the different techniques, demonstrating that the correction results were similar, but with a shorter hospital stay and duration of the intervention in the case of Pectus Up.
Pectus Up Internationalization
The technique, which was launched into the market in 2016, is currently established in Europe, mainly in Spain, France, Ireland and Portugal, and with plans to perform interventions soon on patients from Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Morocco.
Pectus Up is also in full expansion in Latin America. Colombia currently leads the number of interventions carried out, but the technique has recently been implemented in Mexico, Chile and soon in Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador.
More than 130 surgeries have been performed worldwide in recent years and the new surgical method is used in 36 hospitals, by more than 15 surgeons who are experts in the treatment of chest deformities with great international recognition.
There are more and more surgeons who choose the Pectus Up technique, and who consolidate themselves as experts in the training of other professionals interested in the new method.
Workshops and surgeries are carried out live and the experiences of surgeons and the results with their patients are disclosed in different professional forums, such as seminars, conferences and specialized courses.
In addition, patients of different nationalities contact expert Pectus Up surgeons from different countries, taking an interest in the new technique and knowing if they can be operated on, due to their morphology, with this new surgical method.
