Long-term Surveillance Comparing Satisfaction between the Early Experience of Nuss Procedure vs. Ravitch Procedure

BACKGROUND: Long-term surveillance comparing satisfaction between the early experience of Nuss procedure vs. Ravitch procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 patients that underwent surgical correction of a pectus excavatum between 2001 and 2004 and were followed for ≥2 years were included. Surveillance on the degree of satisfaction was performed using five-levels of the Likert scale and self-assessment scoring. RESULTS: Nuss or Ravitch surgery was performed in 63 and 37 patients, respectively. The Nuss procedure required a shorter operation time and shorter hospital stay than the Ravitch procedure (p<0.001). The surveillance demonstrated that 17.6% of the Nuss group and 35.7% of the Ravitch group were not satisfied with the outcome of the surgery (p=0.072). The most common causes of dissatisfaction were redepression in the Nuss group (n=5) and incomplete correction in the Ravitch group (n=7). The multivariate analysis showed that reoperation and a high postoperative pectus index were significant risk factors for a low satisfaction score. CONCLUSION: The Nuss procedure had several advantages over the Ravitch procedure in the immediate postoperative period. However, the long-term satisfaction was determined by a complete correction without recurrence or need for re-intervention rather than by the operation type.