Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum in 118 pediatric patients

Objective To review the clinical outcome of Nuss procedure for peetus excavatum in children.Methods From September 2006 to April 2009,one hundred and eighteen children (29 females and 89 males) aged 3-16 years (mean 6.4 3.52 years) suffering from pectus excavatum underwent Nuss procedure.One hundred and twelve of the eases were corrected without the assistance of thoracoseopie surgery.Three patients had additional lung cyst and underwent open surgery and the other 6 recurrence cases underwent video-assisted thoraeoscopic surgery.Results All surgery were successful,with the operative time ranging from 28 to 65 minutes,intraoperative blood loss was less than 10 ml and hospital stay averaged 6.5 days.Postoperative evaluation was "excellent" in 98 and "good" in 20 cases.All patients were followed up for 1-20 months without any obvious complaints,except for 14 patient who suffered from pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema,which were managed with aspiration.One patient who suffered with severe pneumothorax had chest drain insertion.No unilateral stabilizing bar displacement and incision infection was found during the follow-up.Cenclusions Nuss procedure,with implantation of semi-permanent metal bars,can safely and effectively correct pectus exeavatum. Key words: Surgical procedures; minimally invasive; Furmel chest