The epidemiology of funnel chest repairs in Germany: monitoring the success of Nuss’ procedure

Abstract

Abstract Background In recent years, the Nuss procedure was gaining ground in pectus excavatum repair, but the scientific focus had been on complications compared to conventional repairs. Despite a substantial prevalence of pectus excavatum in population-based studies, the adoption of minimally invasive funnel chest repair and subsequent replacement of conventional procedures has not been assessed on a population-based level. Methods We analysed German administrative case-based data on funnel chest repairs separate by age group and operative procedure: conventional or minimally invasive. Changes over time between 2010 and 2018 were analysed by linear regression. Results There were x̅ = 256 operations per year, which did not change throughout the study time, but following the introduction of minimally invasive repairs, their usage increased particularly in males aged 15 to 19 years by 8.7 procedures per year (P = 0.0142) and was accompanied by a concomitant decrease in conventional repairs in all relevant age groups. We observed a shift of operations towards the age group of 15 to 19 years, whose numbers increased by 5.3 yearly procedures (P = 0.0222), whereas they decreased in all other relevant age groups. These shifts could not be observed in females in a similar fashion, but in both males and females, the numbers of minimally invasive per conventional repair increased. Conclusions In Germany, the introduction of the Nuss procedure did result in a concentration of funnel chest repairs in adolescence and a replacement of conventional repairs. Data from other healthcare systems are missing but are direly needed to assess the current situation in other healthcare systems. Level of evidence III.