Patient-specific outcome simulation after surgical correction of Pectus Excavatum: a preliminary study

Abstract

Although minimally invasive Nuss procedure is frequently performed to correct Pectus Excavatum, the successful aesthetical outcome is not always ensured. Using the computed tomography (CT) data of six patients, high-quality surfaces of the anterior chest wall were generated, alongside with a personalized corrective-bar. Through finite element method (FEM), replicating the surgical procedure, a simulation of the anterior chest wall correction was conducted. The assessment of this methodology was verified by comparing the metrics from the real meshes (3D scanned before and after surgery) and simulated meshes (obtained before and after FEM). Results show a mean difference of 2.85 +/- 5.77 mm on the point of maximum correction between simulated and real outcomes. No statistical differences were found (p = 0.281). High aesthetical similarity was observed concerning simulated and real outcomes. The proposed methodology presents a patient-specific simulation that may be used to plan, predict and improve the surgical outcome of the Nuss procedure. Further studies should continue to improve the presented methodology.