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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2002;21:869-873
© 2002 Elsevier Science NL

Minimally invasive endoscopic repair of pectus excavatum

^a Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, All Children's Hospital/University of South Florida College of Medicine, Cardiac Surgical Associates, 603 Seventh Street South, Suite 450, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
^b Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Canada

Received 29 October 2001; received in revised form 25 December 2001; accepted 22 January 2002.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-727-822-6666; fax: +1-727-821-5994
e-mail: jeffjacobs{at}msn.com

Objective: We report our initial 3 years 4 months’ single institution experience in 31 consecutive patients with pectus excavatum treated with minimally invasive endoscopic pectus excavatum repair utilizing a modification of the ‘Nuss’ technique. Methods: Under general anesthesia, a curved steel bar is individually shaped for each patient to match the ideal chest wall shape and is placed through an endoscopically created retrosternal tunnel between two bilateral midaxillary line 2-cm incisions. The tunnels initially go along the outside of the rib cage, under the pectoral muscles. At the level of the sternum, these tunnels go retrosternal and communicate with each other. The steel bar is passed with the convexity facing posteriorly, within a protective flat silastic drain. Under endoscopic guidance, the curved steel bar is passed through one tunnel, under the sternum, and out the other tunnel. Once positioned, the bar is turned over, thereby correcting the deformity. An epidural catheter provides perioperative pain relief. Results: Minimally invasive endoscopic pectus excavatum repair has been performed on 31 patients (age: range 4.4–31.0 years, median 15.0 years, mean 14.5 years). Median hospital length of stay is 4 days (range 3–10 days, mean 4.6 days). Pneumothorax occurred in five patients requiring tube thoracostomy in three. One patient developed delayed bilateral pleural effusions requiring drainage. Two patients developed evidence of sterile seroma formation at the skin incision several months after minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum. These seromas resolved with non-interventional conservative medical treatment. No other complications occurred. Conclusion: The minimally invasive endoscopic pectus repair is safe and effective and currently our procedure of choice for primary pectus excavatum in all ages. Endoscopic visualization facilitates the safe creation of the retrosternal tunnel. Short-term results have been excellent. Further follow-up will be necessary to determine long-term results.

Key Words: Pectus excavatum • Nuss technique

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