Methods: W e r etrospectively r eviewed 1 30 p atients (98 males, 32 females; mean age 14.6 years; range 1 to 37 years) who underwent minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum at Erciyes University, Medical Faculty, and Antalya Training and Research Hospital between June 2006 and January 2016. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included 119 patients who underwent primary Nuss repair, whereas group 2 included 11 patients who underwent the Nuss repair for recurrence following an unsuccessful modified Ravitch operation. Demographic characteristics, length of hospital stay, and complications in both groups were compared.

Results: The median age was 14 years (range 1 to 36 years) in group 1 and 18 years (range 9 to 31 years) in group 2. Overall complication rates were 8.4% and 27.3% in group 1 and group 2, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the length of hospital stay, number of bars placed, and complications between the two groups.

Conclusion: Nuss repair is a safe operation in selected recurrent pectus excavatum patients with a previously failed open repair.