Innovation in the correction of pectus carinatum: A combination of orthopedic and surgical treatment (the "3-Cs" technique).

Pectus carinatum is a chest wall deformity characterized by a protrusion. For its correction, the flexibility of the chest wall is essential, as it will determine the possibility of correction through orthopedic or surgical treatment. Orthopedic treatment has experienced a boom in recent years thanks to the development of a dynamic compression system (vest) that applies pressure to the area. This effect can be limited by the rigidity of the chest wall (which increases with age) or by the presence of pronounced depressions of abnormally positioned cartilage (limiting cartilage). In these cases, we propose combining the use of the vest with limited partial chondrectomies to facilitate the vest's effect after this surgery. We have called this combination of vest-chondrectomy-vest the "3-Cs" technique. We present a description of the technique and its application in the first patients we have treated in thus manner.