UCSF Study is Testing Magnets to Correct "Sunken Chest"

Filed in archive Diagnostics , Studies , Treatment on February 19, 2007

Medically known as pectus excavatum, "sunken chest" is the most common congenital chest deformity (a deformity of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone) affecting about one in 800 children born in the United States each year and is three times more common in boys than girls.

A groundbreaking has recently been launched by researchers at UCSF Children's Hospital in San Francisco in order to test a procedure using magnets to correct this condition.

...a magnet attached to the child's breastbone is coupled with a second one outside the chest that creates a steady, controlled, outward pull on the internal magnet to reshape the bone, cartilage and chest wall.

The procedure marks one of the first times magnets have been embedded inside the body to treat a health condition.

The new technique is called "Magnetic Mini-Mover Procedure" or 3MP which uses a device that includes two parts: a titanium-encased magnet about the size of a quarter that is surgically attached to the child's breastbone and a second magnet embedded in a lightweight plastic brace that the child wears under clothing.

Once proven successful, 3MP will become a revolutionary treatment for pectus excavatum.

Read the full report.

Find out more about pectus excavatum and Magnetic Mini-Mover Procedure. Interested patients may call the UCSF Division of Pediatric Surgery at 415/476-2538.

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Tags: sunken chest pectus excavatum

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Rating: 8.00 out of 2 vote(s) cast.

Response from: bill (07/15/08 9:18pm)

hey i am 15 years old and would like this surjery. I want to know can you play sports with this magnent in you and my chest is very slight so how long would the battery be in.

Response from: Gloria (08/26/08 1:19am)

bill: contact information of UCSF responsible for the said procedure are listed above (at the end of the post). thanks a lot for your comment.

Response from: LE (10/02/09 2:00pm)

Hi! my son had the nuss procedure done 15 months ago July 2008 and on one of the incisions he developed a rash, which grew into a boil. On July 25, 2009 I took him to see the surgeon who did the procedure and he suggested that I put a bandage made specifically for a boil (was able to buy over the counter at walmart). After wearing the bandage for a few days, I noticed that the boil was getting bigger and filling with blood. I then took him to see his pediatrician who drained the boil and then recommended that I go see an allergist. My son is not allergic to metal (did all the testing) and all of the cultures that they tested came back negative. I was told to get a sonogram. The radiologist recommended that I see a surgeon to have him open up the incision and see what is happending inside my son's body - mentioned that he saw on the sonogram an air pocket and there was a hard object that is showing up in the sonogram - (would not move during sonogram). Also, I do want to mention that ever since his pediatrician drained the boil which was probably beginning of Aug of 2009 the incision has been draining a yellowish discharge with a hint of green and a hint of blood. It has not healed for a few months. I am ready to throw in the towl and have them just remove the bar. I was just told that if we removed the bar now, his chest would NOT go back to the way it was prior to the surgery, is this correct? If it did, would my son be able to get this surgery done, after all he has been through? Thanks for your time.

Response from: laura froehle (09/09/10 2:59pm)

When will the Magnetic mover brace be approved? I think the trial is complete and would like to know when my 15 yr old son can have the procedure done.

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