Magnets that can help repair a sunken chest

MAgnetS could help treat children born with pectus excavatum, a cavedin chest.

this affects four in every 1,000 people and is more common among boys.

treatment usually involves extensive and painful surgery in which a bar is fitted in the chest to force the ribs and breastbone into a normal position.

Doctors at the University of california, San Francisco, are hoping the Magnetic Mini-Mover procedure will avoid this.

in a 30-minute operation, a strong magnet encased in titanium is surgically attached to the breast bone. then the patient puts on a brace containing a second magnet. As the magnets are slowly drawn together, the chest is pulled out and reshaped over two years.