Complex corrective procedure in surgical treatment of asymmetrical pectus excavatum

AIM: In this study we analysed the early and late results of surgical treatment of asymmetrical pectus excavatum using complex surgery combining the Ravitch procedure and the Nuss procedure in the same general anaesthesia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty out of 938 patients with pectus excavatum operated on between 2002 and 2013, 67 males and 13 females aged 11 to 49 years (mean: 19.2), underwent a complex surgical procedure. During surgery the Nuss procedure was usually performed first (one corrective bar was implanted in 35 patients and two bars were inserted in 45 patients). Because of the unsatisfactory cosmetic effect, additionally the Ravitch procedure was started. The bars were electively removed 3 years after the primary operation. RESULTS: No mortality was observed in the early postoperative period. Non-life-threatening and transient postoperative complications occurred in 44 (55%) patients. The most common was pleural effusion (21%), which in 50% of patients required pleural drainage. A satisfactory and stable correction effect was achieved in 88% of cases. Six of those patients required repeat surgery due to recurrence of deformity. CONCLUSIONS: A complex corrective procedure is a successful method of surgical treatment in patients with asymmetrical pectus excavatum and is characterized by satisfactory postoperative results. The use of corrective bars enhances the cosmetic effect. The frequency of early, mostly non-life-threatening postoperative complications after a complex procedure is insignificantly higher than that after the Nuss procedure.