ABSTRACT
Congenital thoracic deformities present a wide spectrum of abnormalities. They include a myriad of complete and incomplete sternal defects: thoracic ectopia cordis, thoracoabdominal ectopia cordis, and bifid sternum. Thoracic ectopia cordis includes infants with an entirely bare heart that is outside the thorax, with cephalic orientation of the cardiac apex. Ectopia cordis is diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound from early stages of gestation, which facilitates perinatal preparation. Pectus excavatum is a depression of the sternum and lower costal cartilages. It is generally identified within the first year of life, and in many infants, it is noted at birth. Pectus excavatum may occur as frequently as 1 in 300–400 live births. Pectus carinatum, the anterior protrusion deformity of the chest, is much less frequent than pectus excavatum, comprising 16" of human combined series. Spondylothoracic dysplasia is an autosomal recessive deformity characterized by short-trunk dwarfism associated with multiple vertebral and rib malformations.
