Initial surgical and pain management outcomes after Nuss procedure.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article was to report surgical and pain management outcomes of the initial Nuss procedure experience at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and to place this experience in the context of the published literature.


METHODS
The initial 118 consecutive Nuss procedures in 117 patients were retrospectively reviewed with approval of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin human rights review board. Patient, surgical, complication, and pain descriptors were collected for each case. Statistical methods for comparison of pain strategies included the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, 1-way repeated measures analysis of variance, and paired t tests.


RESULTS
Patient, surgical, and complication descriptors were comparable to other large series. Complication rates were 7% early and 25% late. Epidural success rate was 96.4%. There was 1 episode of recurrence 2 years postbar removal (n = 114).


CONCLUSIONS
The institution of the Nuss procedure provides a highly desired result with significant complication rates. The ideal approach would deliver this result with lower risk. A pain service-driven epidural administration of morphine or hydromorphone with local anesthetic provides excellent analgesia for patients after Nuss procedure. The success of epidural analgesia is independent of catheter site and adjunctive medications. Ketorolac was an effective breakthrough medication.
Densmore
John C
JC
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. jdensmore@chw.org
Peterson
Danielle B
DB
Stahovic
Linda L
LL
Czarnecki
Michelle L
ML
Hainsworth
Keri R
KR
Davies
Hobart W
HW
Cassidy
Laura D
LD
Weisman
Steven J
SJ
Oldham
Keith T
KT
D000293:Adolescent; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005660:Funnel Chest / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*