The usefulness of a trans-illuminated introducer during the Nuss procedure

Background There has been an increase in the number of patients undergoing the Nuss procedure for cosmetic purposes, thus increasing the need for safer surgery. However, there are reports of massive hemorrhage and organ damage during the Nuss procedure which involves dissection of the anterior mediastinum. We have developed the trans-illuminated introducer that allows safe surgery while maintaining a small surgical incision of less than 1 cm. Methods This study was a retrospective review of 306 patients aged 3-40 years who underwent the Nuss procedure using the trans-illuminated introducer at our hospital between April 2006 and December 2014. Results There were 29 (9.5%) early postoperative complications. The most common early complication was pneumothorax (15 cases, 4.9%). Five (1.6%) patients developed hemothorax in the early postoperative period, which occurred independently of the dissection process of the anterior mediastinum. None of these patients required reoperation or blood transfusion. There were no complications caused by the introducer during dissection of the anterior mediastinum. Conclusions Using the trans-illuminated introducer, we were able to dissect the anterior mediastinum without a major complication, such as massive hemorrhage from the mediastinum, while maintaining a small surgical incision for cosmetic purposes. Therefore, we consider that the trans-illuminated introducer is useful for improving the outcome of the Nuss procedure.