How long will the procedure to fix pectus excavatum take?

Depends: In a 2008 review of ~2000 procedures the time ran from 28-200 min for the primary nuss procedure. Average hospital stay was 5.5 days. Removal of hardware was routeinly done as an outpatient 2-3 yrs later. British usually do @10yo. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2474598/ ?Tool=pmcentrez.

Variable: The operation usually takes 1-2 hours. This involves placement of an epidural catheter and the actual chest repair. The patient spends several days in ICU to monitor the catheter. In all 4-5 days are spent in the hospital. The bar that is placed stays for about 2 years. When the bar is removed it is usually a simple day or out patient surgery.

It depends.: It depends upon the technique used and the severity of the deformity. Open repair with sternal osteotomy and cartilage resection will take 3-4 hours. The Nuss procedure usually takes 60-90 minutes for single bar placement. The placement of additional bars for more severe deformities may add another 45 minutes to the procedure.