Vacuum bell treatment of pectus excavatum: An early North American experience
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Jan 2019 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
This prospective study of 31 pediatric patients evaluated vacuum bell therapy as a non-surgical treatment for pectus excavatum across two North American institutions. Results showed significant improvements in chest wall depth with device usage exceeding 2 hours daily, offering evidence for conservative management as an alternative to surgical repair.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Purpose
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.
Methods
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).
Results
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