Pectus bar removal - why, when, where and how

OBJECTIVE

Despite its less invasive nature, the widespread use of the minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) procedure has been associated with a significant number of serious complications. On the other hand, Pectus bar removal (PBR) is often considered a simple procedure and often scheduled in an outpatient setting. However, several studies report near-fatal complications not only during bar placement, but also during bar removal. The aim of our study was to clarify why a pectus bar should be removed, timing for removal, where PBR should be performed, and overall setup for safe removal.

METHODS

A comprehensive review was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, searching for articles published since 1998 in English. "Pectus bar removal AND (near-fatal) complications" were the applied terms. Inclusion criteria were articles reporting on the focus of PBR after MIRPE. Eligible study designs included (retrospective) case study series, case report and reviews. Full-text articles in which the technique in general was described were omitted.

RESULTS

Recently published results of an online survey raised awareness about type and number of possible complications during PBR. Furthermore, our comprehensive literature review identified only a few, but serious complications during PBR.

CONCLUSIONS

PBR has a high safety profile but in rare cases may be associated with major complications such as life-threatening hemorrhage from various thoracic sources. This risk is higher in patients with a history of complex MIPRE. In an effort to decrease these complications we recommend bilateral opening of surgical incisions, unbending the bar and meticulous mobilization of the bar. To manage these complications if they occur, we recommend removal in a hospital setting with adequate resources and personal including cardiac surgeons. If the postoperative course is uneventful discharge on the same day is reasonable.

Prognostic profiling of children with serious post-operative complications: A novel probability model for failure to rescue

BACKGROUND

Failure to rescue (FTR), mortality after a major postoperative complication, is a superior surgical quality metric compared to surgical mortality or complications rates alone. Our objective was to develop and validate a novel pediatric profiling to identify high-risk subjects among the subset of children who develop serious post-operative complications.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of children who developed one or more serious postoperative complications following inpatient surgery across NSQIP-Pediatric hospitals (2012-2017). We evaluated the rate of FTR according to pre-operative comorbidity burden.

RESULTS

We identified 45,504 surgical cases with major post-operative complications (FTR rates: 2.4%). Surgical cases with greater than six pre-operative comorbidities (n = 12,148;28%) accounted for 80% of FTR events. The expected probability of FTR was 0.1%(95%CI:0.1%-0.2%) among low-risk cases, 3.3%(95%CI:3.0%-3.5%) among intermediate-risk cases, and 22.6%(95%CI:20.9%-24.3%) among high-risk cases. About half of surgical cases in the high-risk profile group died within 48 h of surgery. Comparatively, cases in the intermediate-risk group had a much longer time to mortality (10 days).

CONCLUSION

We propose a prognostic index to accurately identify children at risk for FTR. The use of such an index may provide surgeons with a window of opportunity to implement aggressive monitoring and therapeutic strategies to reduce mortality.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

Commentary regarding prognostic profiling of children with serious postoperative complications: A novel probability model for failure to rescue

This is a commentary on the manuscript by Mpody C, Arends J, Aldrink J, et al., titled "Prognostic Profiling of Children with Serious Post-Operative Complications: A Novel Probability Model for Failure to Rescue".

Does the Surgical Apgar Score predict serious complications after elective major cancer surgery?

BACKGROUND

Major cancer surgery is associated with significant risks of perioperative morbidity and mortality, resulting in delayed adjuvant therapy, higher recurrence rates, and worse overall survival. Previous retrospective studies have used the Surgical Apgar Score (SAS) for perioperative risk assessment. This study prospectively evaluated the predictive value of SAS to predict serious complication (SC) after elective major cancer surgery.

METHODS

Demographic, comorbidity, procedure, and intraoperative data were collected prospectively for 405 patients undergoing elective major cancer surgery between 2014-17. The SAS was calculated immediately postoperative and outcome data were collected prospectively. Rates of SC according to SAS risk category were compared using Cochran-Armitage trend test. Receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves were generated and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

RESULTS

Eighty percent, 17.3%, and 2.7% of patients were low (SAS 7-10), intermediate (SAS 5-6), and high risk (SAS 0-4), respectively, for SC based on their SAS. Forty-six (11.4%) had an SC within 30 days; 3.7% returned to the operating room, 3.7% experienced a urinary tract infection, 3.2% experienced a respiratory complication, 2.7% experienced a wound complication, and 1.2% experienced a cardiac complication. Overall, 9.3%, 18.6%, and 27.3% of patients with SAS 7-10, 5-6, and 0-4 experienced an SC, respectively (P = 0.005). The overall discriminatory ability of the SAS was modest (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves 0.661; 95% confidence intervals, 0.582-0.740).

CONCLUSIONS

Although there was an overall association between SAS and higher risk of subsequent postoperative SC in our cohort, the ability of the SAS to accurately predict risk of postoperative SC at the patient level was limited.