Implementation and acceptance rates of a specially designed vacuometer for the vacuum bell treatment of pectus excavatum.

Background / Purpose: To report the implementation of a specially designed vacuometer for the ambulatory measurement of the exact negative pressure self-applied by the patient when using the vacuum bell for the treatment of pectus excavatum and to analyze patient satisfaction with the device, by conducting a survey.

Methods: Between October 2018 and June 2020, all patients with pectus excavatum who received a vacuum bell at our Pectus Clinic were provided with a specially designed pectus vacuometer for their personal use. We described the vacuometer, the fundamentals of its development, and the utilization protocol.

Sternal torsion in pectus excavatum is related to cardiac compression and chest malformation indexes.

Background/purpose: The role of sternal torsion (ST) in patients with pectus excavatum (PEX) is unknown. We evaluated the relationship between ST and both chest malformation and cardiac compression (CC) indexes.

Methods: We included consecutive patients with PEX who underwent chest computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to define surgical candidacy.

Impact of pectus excavatum on cardiac morphology and function according to the site of maximum compression: effect of physical exertion and respiratory cycle.

Aims: Previous studies have demonstrated diverse cardiac manifestations in patients with pectus excavatum (PEX), although mostly addressing morphological or physiological impact as separate findings. Using multimodality imaging, we evaluated the impact of PEX on cardiac morphology and function according to the site of maximum compression, and the effect of exertion and breathing.

Methods And Results: All patients underwent chest computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), and stress echocardiography (echo) in order to establish surgical candidacy.