ArticlePediatric surgery international2021
Failed preoperative vacuum bell therapy does not affect outcomes following minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum.
Article in Pediatric surgery international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Finite element-guided optimization of personalized vacuum bell devices for pectus excavatum: an exploratory retrospective clinical study.Pediatric surgery international · 2026Article
- The hidden mechanism of vacuum bell therapy: Local fat hypertrophy drives cosmetic outcome in adolescents with pectus excavatum.JPRAS open · 2026Article
- 20 years clinical application of the vacuum bell for conservative treatment of pectus excavatum-past, present, future.Journal of thoracic disease · 2024Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Vacuum Bell Therapy in Pectus Excavatum: A Systematic Review of Clinical Outcomes.Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric SurgeonsReview
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIt is unknown if failed preoperative vacuum bell (VB) treatment in patients undergoing minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE), delays repair and/or affects postoperative outcomes.
methodsA retrospective data analysis including all consecutive patients treated at one single institution undergoing MIRPE was performed between 2000 and 2016. Patients were stratified into preoperative VB therapy versus no previous VB therapy.
resultsIn total, 127 patients were included. Twenty-seven (21.3%) patients had preoperative VB treatment for 17 months (median, IQR 8-34). All 27 patients stopped VB treatment due to the lack of treatment effect. Eight (47.1%) of 17 assessed VB patients showed signs of skin irritation or hematoma. VB treatment had no effect on length of hospital stay (p = 0.385), postoperative complications (p = 1.0), bar dislocations (p = 1.0), and duration of bar treatment (p = 0.174). Time spent in intensive care unit was shorter in patients with VB therapy (p = 0.007). Long-term perception of treatment including rating of primary operation (p = 0.113), pain during primary operation (p = 0.838), own perspective of look of chest (p = 0.545), satisfaction with the procedure (p = 0.409), and intention of doing surgery again (p = 1.0) were not different between groups.
conclusionsFailed preoperative VB therapy had no or minimal effect on short-term outcomes and long-term perceptions following MIRPE.
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