Background: A minimally invasive
technique or Nuss
procedure was devised for
children with
pectus excavatum (
funnel chest ), but it is also used in
adult patients .
Aim: To
report the experience with the Nuss
procedure in
adults '
patients with
pectus excavatum . Material and
methods: Prospective study of
patients operated between January 2007 and January 2009. Clinical features, symptoms,
operative time ,
postoperative complications ,
hospital stay and
quality of life , using the Nuss
questionnaire adapted for
adults , was recorded.
Results: Eighteen
patients aged 18±2 years (14
males ) were operated. Seven
patients had
scoliosis , two had
depression , two had
asthma and one had a
Marfan syndrome . AU
patients were concerned about aesthetic issues, nine had
dyspnea , three had compression of cardiac cavities and three had pulmonary function disturbances. Haller index was 3.8. Mean
operative time was 92 minutes.
Postoperative complications were a
pneumothorax without
chest tube management in two
patients , a peridural
hematoma in one
patient and a bar
stabilizer infection that required a
reoperation in one
patient . No
patient died and the mean
hospital stay was six days. The Nuss
questionnaire scores in the pre and
postoperative periods were 33 and 48, respectively (p <0.05).
Conclusions: Nuss operation is feasible and safe in
adults with
pectus excavatum .