All patients who underwent surgical correction of pectus excavatum via the Nuss procedure between July 1, 2022 and February 28, 2026 are considered eligible for enrollment. Additionally, for the prospective component, patients scheduled for surgery up to December 31, 2026 at the Pediatric Surgery department of our institution will be considered eligible.

Inclusion criteria:

Age greater than 14 years. Patients who underwent percutaneous cryoneurolysis. Patients who underwent surgical correction of pectus excavatum according to the Nuss procedure.

Exclusion criteria:

Patients who withhold consent to participate in the study, patients with pre-existing neurological conditions, and patients who do not attend the scheduled follow-up visits will be excluded from the study.

Assessment tools include validated questionnaires - the S-LANSS (Self-report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs, range 0-24, higher scores indicating greater likelihood of neuropathic pain) and the PedsQL™ (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, v4.0, Adolescent/Young Adult Report, range 0-100, higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life) - together with the Patient Self-Assessment Sensory Scale (range 0-10, 0 indicating no sensitivity and 10 indicating normal sensitivity) and a structured physical examination of thoracic sensitivity. These tools are administered at pre-specified follow-up timepoints. The physical examination assesses four sensory modalities corresponding to specific afferent fibre classes of the intercostal nerves: cold thermal sensation (Aδ fibres, ice-water contact, 4-10°C), warm thermal sensation (C fibres, ~40°C water), light touch (Aβ fibres, camel-hair brush), and pressure sensitivity (Aβ fibres, Von Frey filament 5.07/10g)

To assess the incidence of neuropathic pain using the validated S-LANSS (Self-report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs) scale, administered at the scheduled follow-up visits. The S-LANSS score ranges from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating greater likelihood and severity of neuropathic pain (a score ≥12 is suggestive of pain of predominantly neuropathic origin

To describe the quality of life of patients using a specific validated questionnaire appropriate for adolescents and young adults (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory - PedsQL™ version 4.0 for adolescents and young adults). The PedsQL total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life.