Treating sunken chest with magnets

    Sunken chest, or pectus excavatum, affects about one in 500 people, usually boys. Traditional methods for treating sunken chest work well but tend to cause tremendous pain, and some children have become addicted to pain killers as result.
    A new technique using magnets to treat sunken chest syndrome could eliminate the need for painful and invasive surgery.
    The treatment involves inserting a magnet just under the skin at the base of the concave area. This magnet works in conjunction with a second, powerful magnet imbedded in a brace worn by the patient, gradually pulling the chest wall outwards with little or no pain.