Recent Advancements in Pectus Surgery: Crane Lifting, Multiple-Bar Approach, Bridge Stabilization, and Sandwich...

The most recent procedure for pectus excavatum repair involves crane-powered entire chest wall remodeling, which employs crane lifting, multiple-bar approach, bridge stabilization, and sandwich techniques. This resulted in a paradigm shift in pectus deformity repair from merely lifting the sunken bone to remodeling the chest wall into normal anatomy.

We analyzed 649 patients who underwent surgery for pectus excavatum or complex combined deformities between March 2018 and January 2022. A crane with sternal wiring or screwing was used to lift the chest wall without using the pectus bar turning power. Multiple bars with bridge connections were placed to eliminate bar displacement. Modified sandwich techniques were applied to relieve the lower coastal flare (flare-buster) and focal protuberance (magic string).

The mean age of the patients included in the study was 12.2 years (range: 3-45 years). A single bar was used for 202 patients until 2021. For the multiple-bar technique, parallel bars (n = 142), crossbars (n = 166), and crossbars plus upper horizontal bars (XI pattern; n = 139) were used. The overall complication rate was 6.2 %. There was no cases of bar displacement were observed, but other minor complications such as pneumothorax (n = 20, 3.1 %), pleural effusion (n = 7, 1.1 %), and wound infection (n = 5, 0.8 %) were detected. Three patients required reoperation (infection, two: hemorrhage, one).

The crane-powered entire chest wall remodeling technique improved the safety and comprehensiveness of the repair procedure. By incorporating bridge stabilization and the use of multiple bars, we effectively resolved the issues related to bar displacement and incomplete repair.

Retrospective Cohort Study.