Nuss bar removal without straightening is a safe technique: a single center experience

A Nuss bar often placed to correct pectus excavatum is usually removed after a period of 2 to 3 years. Bar removal can result in potentially life-threatening complications. To minimize this risk, a recent systematic review recommends in-situ straightening of the bar before removal. Alternatively, the bar can be removed without straightening by extraction along the thoracic curvature. This study reports our single-center experience with this latter technique for bar removal, with focus on perioperative complications.

A single-center retrospective observational cohort study was conducted. Consecutive patients undergoing Nuss bar removal between 2011 and 2020 were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome was the incidence of perioperative complications. Secondary outcomes included duration of operation, blood loss, and length of postoperative hospital stay.

A total of 331 patients were included. Of these, 288 (87%) were male with a median age of 20 years [interquartile range (IQR), 19-26 years]. Perioperative complications occurred in a total of 4 patients (1%) following Nuss bar removal. Two patients (0.6%) experienced major complications (deep incisional surgical site infection and hemothorax respectively); there was no mortality. The median duration of surgery was 30 minutes (IQR, 20-40 minutes). Patients were discharged after a median postoperative stay of 1 day (IQR, 1-1 day).

Nuss bar removal without prior in-situ bar straightening appears to be a safe and effective technique. It is associated with a low complication rate of 1%.