Pectus Excavatum and Pectus Carinatum: Associated Conditions, Family History, and Postoperative Patient Satisfaction

Abstract

BackgroundPectus excavatum (PE) and pectus carinatum (PC) are the most common chest wall deformities. In this study, we aimed to characterize how patients obtained information about these deformities, as well as patients’ family history, associated medical problems, and postoperative satisfaction after the Nuss and Abramson procedures.MethodsThis cross-sectional retrospective study included patients who were operated by a single surgeon between 2006 and 2013. Follow-up calls were made after approval of our institution’s ethics committee. We reached 207 of the 336 PE patients (61.6%) and 73 of the 96 PC patients (76%).ResultsThe majority of the patients were male (85% of the PE patients and 91.8% of the PC patients). The age of diagnosis of PE was 14.52±0.51 years and the age at the time of operation was 17.89±0.42 years; for PC patients, the corresponding ages were 15.23±0.55 years and 16.77±0.55 years, respectively. A total of 70% of the PE patients and 63.8% of the PC patients obtained information about pectus deformities through the Internet. In 27.1% of the PE patients with an associated anomaly, 57.1% (n=13) had scoliosis, while 41.1% of the PC patients with an associated anomaly had kyphosis (n=5). Postoperative satisfaction, as evaluated on a scale from 0 to 10, was 8.17±0.15 for PE patients and 8.37±0.26 for PC patients. The postoperative pain duration was 51.93±5.18 days for PE patients and 38.5±6.88 days for PC patients.ConclusionIn this study, we found that most patients with pectus deformities were male. The Internet was an important resource for patients to learn about their deformities. Family history and associated anomalies were identified as important aspects for consideration in the clinical setting. The patients reported high levels of postoperative satisfaction, and pain management was found to be one of the most important elements of postoperative care.

Effects of Nuss procedure on thoracic scoliosis in patients with pectus excavatum

“…In addition, correction of PE had some significant effects on TS. The optimal age for the correction of the deformity is a controversial issue (14)(15)(16)(17). However, these findings suggest that early correction of PE can reduce TS in patients with PE (11,13).…”

Intervention of the Nuss Procedure on the Mental Health of Pectus Excavatum Patients

“…The operations were done under general anesthesia as described before. 2) Briefly, both sides of the chest were incised laterally. Then, the surgeon inserted a curved bar into the sternum.…”

“…Thus, PE patients often suffer from impaired social interaction, and the self-esteem of PE patients is negatively connected with aesthetic concerns. 2) Indeed, children with PE displayed higher prevalence of psychosocial problems than children of health control. 3) The Nuss procedure is a common and minimally invasive treatment for PE repair.…”

Scar revision after minimal invasive repairment of pectus deformities

“…Pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum are the chest wall deformities that often require surgical correction for cardiopulmonary and/or especially for cosmetic indications [1,2]. These surgeries are performed via replacing a metal bar to the chest wall by several techniques for the correction of the deformity.…”