Participants’ characteristics.

Objectives
Pectus excavatum, or funnel chest, causes both physical and psychosocial issues, affecting health-related quality of life. However, the literature on how funnel chest affects daily living prior to corrective surgery is sparse. Therefore, the study aimed to describe the experiences of living with funnel chest prior to correctional surgery.
Materials and methods
The study had a qualitative exploratory design. Consecutive sampling was applied in which all individuals from a single cardiothoracic department scheduled for the minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum were asked to participate. Nineteen participants, 17 men and two women, participated in the study. Individual telephone interviews were conducted from February 2020 until April 2021. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis using an inductive approach.
Results
The overall theme “To have or not to have a cavity in my chest, it could make a difference” was interpreted as the latent meaning of the participants’ experiences. The theme included two subthemes with three categories each. The subtheme “The funnel chest puts a weight on my shoulders” describes the heavy burden the funnel chest places on the participants. The second subtheme, “This is me, but I want to change my future”, describes that participants see the funnel chest as a part of themselves; nevertheless, they look forward to surgery and a life without it.
Conclusion
The results emphasize the heavy burden funnel chest causes and the great limitations it places on the individual. It also highlights the importance of surgery and the hope for a better future for individuals with funnel chest.

研究目的
漏斗胸（Pectus excavatum）会引发躯体及社会心理层面的诸多问题，对患者的健康相关生活质量造成负面影响。然而，目前针对漏斗胸患者接受矫正手术前的日常受影响状况的相关研究文献仍较为匮乏。因此，本研究旨在描述患者在接受矫正手术前的漏斗胸患病体验。

材料与方法
本研究采用质性探索性研究设计。采用连续抽样法，纳入某单一心胸外科科室中所有计划接受漏斗胸微创修复手术的个体，并邀请其参与研究。最终共有19名受试者参与本研究，其中男性17名，女性2名。研究于2020年2月至2021年4月期间开展了一对一的电话访谈。采用归纳式质性内容分析法对访谈资料进行分析。

研究结果
本研究提炼出的核心主题为「胸腔存在与否，皆可带来迥异影响」，该主题被解读为受试者患病体验的潜层内涵。该核心主题包含两个子主题，每个子主题下设三个类别。第一个子主题「漏斗胸如巨石压肩」，描述了漏斗胸给受试者带来的沉重负担；第二个子主题「此乃我之躯，却盼重塑未来」，阐述了受试者虽将漏斗胸视为自身的一部分，但仍对手术及摆脱该病的新生活充满期待。

研究结论
本研究结果凸显了漏斗胸所带来的沉重负担及其对患者个体造成的诸多限制，同时也强调了手术干预的重要性，以及漏斗胸患者对美好生活未来的殷切期盼。