Surgeons from France are trained to treat Pectus Excavatum using the most pioneering technique

Since 2012, clinical cases of different ages have been treated in Spain, and during 2016, different surgeons from France are trained with the new surgical technique. Among them, we highlight Dr. Manuel López and Dr. Oliver Tiffet from the Saint-Étienne University Hospital (CHU de Saint-Étienne).

This training process will facilitate the extension of the new technique outside the Spanish state, together with the CE certification that has already been obtained to commercialize the product at European level since 2015. Moreover, due to the fact that the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) has given the authorization to commercialize the product in France will also contribute to this extension. During the summer months, the first interventions are expected to be performed in the Saint-Étienne hospital.

Previously, the surgical treatment of Pectus Excavatum could be carried out by two different techniques: the Ravich procedure and the NUSS method. Nevertheless, since the development of the new medical device, the Pectus Up Surgery Kit by Ventura Medical Technologies in 2010, a new technique exists, and it is the most innovative, the Taulinoplastia, which reduces considerably patients serious complications.

This new method is less invasive and painful, and entails a short recovery period. The procedure consists of placing the implant, Pectus Up, on the sternum, at the subcutaneous level. Through an elevation system, the sternum is raised until the desired position is reached and then it is attached to the implant.

It is a minimally invasive technique that reduces the risk of damaging vital organs and minimises the complications. In addition, it allows a quick incorporation into daily life; it is designed to have a good adaptation to the thorax, favouring a normal development of the ribcage, without the need of modifying or removing the implant. On the other hand, as the complexity of the surgical intervention of Pectus Excavatum is reduced, the duration of the surgical intervention is also reduced and there is no need for patients to be in ICU care.

Pectus Excavatum patients who have been treated with the Pectus Up Surgery Kit highlight this process for being little painful, allowing a quick incorporation to daily life and a short hospitalisation period. This is because patients are subjected to minimally invasive and not very complex technique.