Blood metal levels after minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum

Abstract   OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) is the most popular surgical approach for paediatric patients with pectus excavatum. A substernal stainless still bar is inserted and left in place for 3 years and then removed. Our goal was to investigate blood metal levels after MIRPE and to correlate them with surgical details, such as the numbers of bars and stabilizers and the length of time the bar was in place. METHODS Blood levels of iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum and nickel were analysed in 130 teenagers (108 boys and 22 girls) who had MIRPE using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A total of 62 patients were operated on using MIRPE (study…