More than two hundred surgeries are performed in Hungary every year to correct the developmental disorder known as the funnel chest that affects every six thousandth child. Recently, a process with 3D printing has been developed in Pécs, with the cooperation of doctors, engineers, 3D designers and metalworking professionals. The University of Pécs made an interview with thoracic surgeon Dr Zalán Szántó who invented the new method that has a huge opportunity in surgical procedures.
How widespread is this developmental disorder and what complications does or can it cause in those who suffer from it?
- It is also a matter of somewhat subjective judgment as to when we can say someone has a funnel chest. Some have a shorter sternum, and their chest is therefore pushed inwards towards the inside of the chest. It is more common in young boys; there is one case in approximately six thousand births. Perhaps we should rather call this an anatomical variation. It can be dangerous because, in more severe cases, it can compress the hearts and lungs of the patients, but perhaps this is not the most dangerous thing but the shape of the unusually formed chest, which will be especially spectacular in adolescence. For an unfolding soul, this is a great burden; they do not dare to undress on the beach or show up in front of others. In Hungary, about fifty patients are operated on in adult thoracic surgery, while in paediatric surgery, where it is more common, approximately two hundred, two hundred and fifty patients are operated on in total every year.
To read the full interview, click HERE!
Source: University of Pécs: Surgical precision with engineering accuracy