Introduction
Patients with Pectus Excavatum (PEx) commonly report symptoms of exercise intolerance and dyspnoea, attributed to cardiac compression and pulmonary restriction. The surgical intervention to correct the chest deformity is principally recognised as cosmetic. However, there are a group of patients who report significant improvement in both functional status and quality of life post-operatively.
 
Aim
We aimed to assess the difference in PEx patients who demonstrate improvement in physiological characteristics of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPEX) against those who do not.
 
Methods
15 consecutive PEx patients (n=14 male; n=1 Female), BMI 21.3 (3.72), age 21.8 (5.8) years, who were surgically treated for PEx and completed baseline and post-surgical CPEX evaluation. Demographics and CPEX characteristics of patients with improved exercise function (group 1) were compared to those with no improvement (group 2) using paired t-test analysis.
 
Results
Group 1 were older and had abnormal exercise responses pre-operative. There was no significant difference in other demographics, spirometry and ventilatory responses to exercise (Table 1).

Conclusion
Patients with PEx and exercise dysfunction demonstrate significant improvement in cardiorespiratory responses post-surgical intervention. These results challenge the assumption that surgical correction is merely cosmetic.