Pectus Excavatum: Surgery

(asked on 26th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what NHS guidance is available on the circumstances in which surgery for pectus deformity can be accessed if it is deemed clinically necessary.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 9th February 2021

Decisions about surgical funding are made by clinical experts and therefore it would not be appropriate for Government to intervene.

Surgical treatment for individuals can be considered for pectus deformity if a clinician believes that a treatment or service, not routinely offered by the National Health Service, is the best treatment for their patient. In this case the clinician can, on behalf of their patient, make an individual funding request which takes into account individual clinical circumstances - for example, exceptional circumstances either in terms of clinical presentation or the ability of a patient to benefit.

NHS England has not issued any clinical guidance to doctors to assess the severity of pectus deformity or on the non-surgical options for pectus deformity treatment.

Reticulating Splines