The Physiological Mirage: Why Oxygen Pulse Overstates Surgical Success in Pectus Excavatum

While Shakespeare mused that one might “by indirections find directions out”, science - particularly in the surgical and medical physiological domains - demands directness, rigor, and transparency. Nowhere is this tension more evident than in the ongoing debate surrounding the correction of pectus excavatum (PE), a condition that has long occupied the crossroads of anatomy, physiology, and self-perception. Central to the physiological rationale for surgical intervention - particularly via Minimally Invasive Repair of Pectus Excavatum (MIRPE) - is the assumption that repair alleviates cardiopulmonary compression and improves cardiorespiratory fitness.