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Child Has Protruding Lower Ribs Since Birth. Advised Chest X-ray. What Could The Problem Be?
Our delightful grandchild of 5 and a half has had protruding lower ribs on both sides since birth. The only time it affected him was at the rolling over and beginning to crawl stage. Over the years his mum has asked several doctors about it when she visited for other minor illnesses but it has never been important to the doctor. However, yesterday when she saw a GP regarding his current sinus infection the doctor examined him and suggested to her that when he was well again it would be a good idea to have his chest x-rayed because of his protruding ribs. What could be the problem?
Wed, 20 Feb 2013
Hi
Thank you for your query
There can be a number of chest wall deformities which can give rise to such picture. It can be pectus excavatum. However it can only be said on examining the child. Also important to know is how much disability he has due to this defect. If it is significant in terms of him getting tired easily or not being able to do a lot of exercise due to it then you must get a CT scan and a pulmonary function test for it. It may require surgical correction. Sometimes it may be minor and just indicative of some vitamin deficiency like vitamin D. It can easily be corrected. You can consult a pediatric surgeon for the same
Hope that helps
God bless you
Thank you for your query
There can be a number of chest wall deformities which can give rise to such picture. It can be pectus excavatum. However it can only be said on examining the child. Also important to know is how much disability he has due to this defect. If it is significant in terms of him getting tired easily or not being able to do a lot of exercise due to it then you must get a CT scan and a pulmonary function test for it. It may require surgical correction. Sometimes it may be minor and just indicative of some vitamin deficiency like vitamin D. It can easily be corrected. You can consult a pediatric surgeon for the same
Hope that helps
God bless you
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