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The vacuum treatment for the pectus excavatum thickened subcutaneous fat of the chest wall and is effective in preteenagers

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Abstract

Purpose

We report effects of treatment for pectus excavatum (PE) with a Vacuum Bell (VB).

Materials and methods

Fifteen patients (13 males and 2 females) undergoing VB therapy over 6 years, aged 6–17 years (mean: 11.1 years), were divided into two Groups: Group 1 (G1), preteenagers (< 13 years); Group 2 (G2), teenagers (≧ 13 years). We retrospectively recorded changes in depth of depression and the Haller index.

Results

The depth of depression reduced in 93.3% of 15 patients (mean; 8.7 mm). Minimal change occurred in the Haller index but the subcutaneous fat thickened significantly (11/15 patients). The improvement rate on elevation of the chest wall was better in G1 than G2 (G1: 54.0% vs G2: 51.3%).

Conclusion

The maximum depth of depression improved in PE patients as a result of thickening of subcutaneous fat. VB is most effective in preteenagers with PE.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank to Professor Kevin Pringle in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand for his help with English editing for this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Surgery, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, 241-8511, Japan

    Shigeyuki Furuta, Hideki Nagae, Kei Ohyama, Kunihide Tanaka & Hiroaki Kitagawa

Authors
  1. Shigeyuki Furuta
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  2. Hideki Nagae
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  3. Kei Ohyama
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  4. Kunihide Tanaka
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  5. Hiroaki Kitagawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroaki Kitagawa.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

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Furuta, S., Nagae, H., Ohyama, K. et al. The vacuum treatment for the pectus excavatum thickened subcutaneous fat of the chest wall and is effective in preteenagers. Pediatr Surg Int 36, 1465–1469 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-020-04758-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-020-04758-1

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