Population, symptoms and causes of Pectus Excavatum
Anyone can be affected by the condition. The scientific literature estimates that men are four times more likely to develop the condition than women. Pectus Excavatum is characterised by insufficient or excessive growth of the bony and/or cartilage structures of the rib cage. It affects the second part of the sternum and invades the cartilages from the third rib to the eighth rib. Scoliosis is often associated with the deformation.
Its aetiology has not allowed the causes and origin of the condition to be determined. The hereditary nature of the deformation is clear, as some 40% of those affected have a family member with the same condition[3].