Surgical Outcomes of Double Compression and Complete Fixation Bar System in Pectus Excavatum.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum is a widely used technique for correction of pectus excavatum. Yet despite the advancement in the surgical techniques, it is still associated with various complications, including bar displacement leading to reoperation. To overcome this problem, we developed the double compression and complete fixation bar (DCCF) system that consists of 2 metal bars that are inserted above and below the sternum and compressed to correct pectus excavatum.

METHODS: Patients who underwent pectus excavatum correction surgery at this center between April 2006 and March 2017 were divided into a DCCF system group and a conventional Nuss procedure group and their demographic, clinical, and surgical characteristics were compared.

RESULTS: A total of 220 patients underwent the DCCF system procedure and 306 patients underwent the conventional Nuss procedure. The DCCF system group had significantly shorter operation time (p < 0.001) and postoperative hospital admission time (p < 0.001) compared with the conventional Nuss procedure group. There were only 2 cases (0.9%) of postoperative complications in the DCCF system group, which was significantly less than that of the conventional Nuss procedure group (n = 64, 20.9%; p < 0.001). In particular, there were no cases of bar displacement in the DCCF system group.

CONCLUSIONS: The DCCF system was applied to surgical correction of pectus excavatum, which led to significant reduction in the operation time and postoperative hospital admission period, as well as reduced minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum complication and bar displacement rates. Therefore, we recommend the application of the DCCF system to the surgical correction of pectus excavatum.