Vacuum bell treatment of pectus excavatum: An early North American experience

Conservative treatment of pectus excavatum with a vacuum bell device may be an attractive alternative to surgical repair. We describe an early North American experience with this device.

Prospectively maintained chest wall clinic registries from two institutions were reviewed to identify pectus excavatum patients ≤21 years treated with the vacuum bell from 2013 to 2017. Multivariate linear regression was used to compare mean improvements in deformity-depth and Haller Index between groups of patients based on age and usage metrics (hours/day and days/week).

Thirty-one patients with a median age of 14 years received treatment with the device. Mean follow-up duration was 18 months. Median depth and Haller Index at treatment onset were 2.3 cm and 3.9, respectively. Improvements in deformity-depth were superior with device usage >2 h/day (p < 0.01) and daily use (p < 0.01). After adjusting for compliance, younger age of treatment onset was associated with greater improvement in Haller Index but not deformity depth.

Our prospective early North American experience found the vacuum bell to be a potential alternative to surgical treatment for pectus excavatum. Longer usage periods in a daily frequency are associated with best results.

Treatment study; case series with no comparison group.

Level IV.