Assessment of the effectiveness of using physical exercises in patients after surgical intervention by the ,,pectus excavatum” owing to the Nuss procedure

Abstract

To date, more than 80 different options for surgical interventions and their modifications have been described for the treatment of «pectus excavatum». The problem of rehabilitation of patients after reconstructive operations on the chest is relatively new in orthopedic rehabilitation; many aspects of this complex process have not been sufficiently studied yet. The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using a therapeutic exercise for patients after surgical intervention in case of the "pectus excavatum" according to the Nuss procedure. Materials and methods. The study was performed at the Spine Surgery clinic of the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. Studied population: 145 patients with the diagnosis "pectus excavatum" underwent the minimally invasive correction using the Nuss procedure. After corrective surgery according to the Nuss method, the patients were divided into two study groups: the control group, or the observation group (CG, n = 96), which did not resort to physical rehabilitation and was observed throughout the study period, and ОG (n = 49), whose patients have undergone a physical rehabilitation program. Results. The 14 days after the operation, according to the scale "Physical activity", "The role of physical problems in limitation of vital functions", the main group indices were significantly higher: in main group (61,1±4,5), ( x ±S)) against control group (42,5±3,88), ( x ±S)),(р<0,05) accordingly. A similar trend continued at the remote stage of the survey after 12 months (in the main group 99,3±1,12(( x ±S)) and the control group 85,3±5,54( x ±S)), (р<0,05), respectively. During the comparing indicators on the scale "Physical activity" at the remote stage of the examination, it was found that the results of the patients of the main group significantly exceeded the results of the control group (in the main group 94,3±5,32 ( x ±S)) against 80,3±4,21 ( x ±S)) in the control group), the differences were statistically significant (р<0,05). Conclusions. The program developed a postoperative rehabilitation program for patients after surgical correction of pectus deformity using the Nuss procedure significantly improved quality of life according to the SF-36 questionnaire, especially in physical and vital activity in the early stages after the operation. These indicators were also significantly higher after 12 months. after surgical intervention.