A complication of pectus excavatum operation: Endomyocardial steel strut

An 18-year-old patient who had correction of pectus excavatum deformity in our department 4 years earlier was admitted because of stabbing chest pain. He had not attended to postoperative controls and had not come for extract ion of the steel strut, although he had been contacted. He was diagnosed to have a broken steel strut, and the shut was noted to be embedded in the my ocardium. This unreported complication of pectus excavatum operation forced us to review sternal support techniques. (Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:1082-3) (C) 1999 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.