Background: pectus excavatum (PE) is the most common congenital deformity of\nthe thoracic wall. Lately, significant achievements have been made in finding new, less invasive\ntreatment methods for PE. However, most of the experimental work was carried out without the help\nof an animal model. In this report we describe a method to create an animal model for PE in\nSprague-Dawley rats. Methods: We selected 15 Sprague-Dawley rat pups and divided them into\ntwo groups: 10 for the experimental group (EG) and 5 for the control group (CG). We surgically\nresected the last four pairs of costal cartilages in rats from the EG. The animals were assessed by\nCT-scan prior to surgery and weekly for four consecutive weeks. After four weeks, the animals were\neuthanized and the thoracic cage was dissected from the surrounding tissue. Results: On the first\npostoperative CT, seven days after surgery, we observed a marked depression of the lower sternum\nin all animals from the EG. This deformity was present at every CT-scan after surgery and at\nthe post-euthanasia assessment. Conclusions: By decreasing the structural strength of the lower\ncostal cartilages, we produced a PE animal model in Sprague-Dawley rats.
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