Nuss procedure improves the quality of life in young mate adults with pectus excavatum deformity

Objective: The Nuss procedure is a minimally invasive pectus repair. This study represents an attempt towards exploring the changes in quality of life and overall satisfaction in young mate adults who underwent a Nuss procedure. Methods: We have included 20 mate patients with a median age of 18 years (range: 14-37 years). We have used two specific questionnaires: the two-step Nuss evaluation Questionnaire modified for Adults (NQ-mA) and a new Single Step Questionnaire (SSQ). The data was analysed using Witcoxon signed rank test to determine statistical significance of differences, with a < 0.05 level of significance. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between the answers. Results: The primary indication for surgery was cosmetic. Both questionnaires were adequate to measure disease-specific quatity-of-life changes after surgery and were able to confirm the positive impact of surgery on both the physical and the physiological well-being of young adults. Statistical analysis of the scoring of the individual questions and the total score of individual patients revealed a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) following surgery. The SSQ had a highly significant correlation to the NQ-mA questionnaire (correlation coefficient = 0.682, p = 0.001). Overall, the SSQ revealed a statistically significant improvement (p = 0.001) in self-esteem and it high level of satisfaction following the Nuss procedure. Only two patients fell into a low satisfaction group. Conclusion: The Nuss procedure has already been shown to have a positive impact on both the physical and psychosocial well-being of children who are suffering from pectus excavatum deformity. We have shown a similar positive impact in young mate adults, in the short term. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.