Can My Subcostal Rib Flare Be Reduced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, inquirimg whether rib breaking or removal surgery would best help correct my flared ribs due to mild pectus excavatum. I have tried bracing, but do not have the discipline to do it for years as instructed in order to fix so exploring other surgical alternatives. Please see my pictures attached for reference.

A:Thank you for sending your pictures which show a lower subcostal rib protrusion. This problem in your case is not best treated by excision but by cutting the cartilages to allow them to bend inward in which a period of postoperative banding  (bracing) is needed to help them to reshape. To deter exactly how many of the lower subcostal rubs are involved and where best to place the cartilage scoring a preoperative 3D ribcage is needed for that surgical planning.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World Renowned Plastic Surgeon