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A.J.
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Eckart Klobe's Vacuum Bell: complete medical journal & pics
Vacuum Bell application.
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A.J.
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after Vacuum Bell use
The duration of the after-effects increases as treatment progresses, in which duration of treatment sessions may also be increased, toward permanent
correction.
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A.J.
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link to medical journal ( complete article )
This is the complete version. It was free, but now it's available from either "Science Direct" or "Elsvier Health and Sciences", for 30.00 USD
EDIT 7 / 27 / 05: apparently, the study article is no longer available free of charge.
I don't know the legality of sharing it at this point, but I do have the article archived in .pdf format
________________________________________________
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peter
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Does this technique really work? I have to say I am skeptical particulary for moderate to severe cases.
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A.J.
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The guy who invented/developed it is an engineer, who used it to correct his own p.e.
I have symmetrical, moderate p.e. ( 3.3 ) and I think it's ideal for moderate cases.
However, in the medical journal, it says that the deeper the indent is, the more the corrective force that is created by the
negative pressure.
Basically what it's saying is that it's actually easier for the device to correct deeper indents than milder ones ( a smaller diameter "bell" might
work better for milder, more localized indents ).
( The correcting concept is similar to tooth correction. )
It is a phenomenon of physics:
a relatively small amount of negative pressure ( "Vacuum" )
can create an exponential force, which pulls out the indent.
It's also how car dent pullers work.
Keep in mind that the p.e. condition is a thin flat sternum, surrounded by rather flexible cartilige.
Also, part of the resistance that creates p.e. is from muscles that have been trained to contract or rest in certain ways.
The Vacuum Bell treatments are also therapy to re-train these muscles.
At this point, there's no long term data on the device. However, there isn't really any long term data on the Nuss procedure either.
At least with the device you'd have it available whenever you might need it for maintenance. The effects last for increasing periods of time.
The idea is to use it as routine maintenance, toward long term correction.
It costs 650.00 USD , the Nuss surgery costs 30,000 USD + .
I think it's worth trying before considering surgery.
However, a risk you run would be that you'd lessen the severity ( or correct ) your p.e. such that a Haller index would not support a surgery
claim.
It's been used as a preparation aid to Nuss surgery.
It's also been used during surgery, to hold the chest wall suspended, so that a Nuss bar could be placed, putting less risk on the heart when using
the introducer, for the bar path.
It is also used to improve conditions, if necessary, after surgical correction.
| Quote: | | Does this technique really work? I have to say I am skeptical particulary for moderate to severe cases |
The principal evidence is quite the contrary:
The device works better, the more severe the indent is.
I have a theory that a device smaller in diameter will work better for milder, more localized p.e.
I plan on using a large Vacuum Bell first. Then, as treatment progresses and the dent becomes less ( with the pulling force therefore becoming
diminished )
I am then going to use a smaller Vacuum Bell, confined to focus force on the more localized area.
It's worth a try for people who can't afford or get clearance for surgery,
and for people who are otherwise hesitant about surgery, based on the nature of risks and recovery.
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PEople
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I am also gonna try it.
As I see it, I would be relatively content with having to use it about once a week to keep the corection. Even if it means for the rest of my life.
But of course it wouldnt because at some point I would probably stop caring that I have P.E. 
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A.J.
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That's what's good about it: You can see what it's like to not have p.e. , how it might affect your exercise, how you feel when out at places like the
beach, waterparks, etc.
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MadeInCanada
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| Quote: | Originally posted by A.J.
It is a phenomenon of physics:
a relatively small amount of negative pressure ( "Vacuum" )
can create an exponential force, which pulls out the indent.
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What is "an exponential force"?
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fitterhappier
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I am extremely interested in purcashing the Vacuum Bell and am highly optimistic of its efficacy. After writing to Eckart Klobe about my interest and
hieght and weight measurements, he suggested a specific size Vacuum Bell and enclosed a declaration of purchase. The declaration of purchase must be
signed and stamped by a medical doctor that will attending the treatment.
I don't know if I can find a doctor that will either sign this decleration or will work with me to apply the Vacuum Bell treatment. Therefore, I am
looking for other avenues in purchasing the Vacuum Bell.
A.J. has been very proactive in posting literature and information on the Vacuum Bell as well as contacting Mr.Klobe and the FDA to list the Vacuum
Bell as a Investigational Device Exemption which will mean that transport from Europe to the U.S. is possible.
I would really like to purchase the Vacuum Bell as soon as possible, with or without FDA exemption. If anyone from the states has successfully
purchased the Vacuum Bell and can assist me in purchasing one without a doctor's approval, or if there is anyone from Europe that can procure the
Vacuum Bell from Mr. Klobe and ship it to the states, please contact me via U2U.
A.J., thank you very much for the medical journal article and your efforts in brining the Vacuum Bell to the states. It's much appreciated. Hopefully,
we both will be able to purchase one soon.
Peace
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peter
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'The device works better, the more severe the indent is.' That sounds almost to good to be true.
AJ - can you point towards some pictures that would illustrate this. I can see virtually little or no PE in the guy above.
I would certainly be prepared to give the vaccum bell a try but would like to see some more evidence. Any you can point to would be great. Its a pity
E.Klobe attachs the doctor restriction to purchasing the device. I can see my doctor looking at me as if I were nuts if I told him about this device.
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Adrian1980
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I hope it works for you guys and girls but i still dont belive that it will work for long term results meaning years and not just weeks or
months...
Why i doubt it , A Nuss bar puts presure on the ribs and keeps the ribs under presure(holding the ribs if you like) The nuss bar does this for years!
,but if taken out after 1-2 years the chest will fall back in....
Now the Vacum bell sucks the sterum right out but does NOT correct the ribs that is also effected by the PE (that is also why nuss surgery hurts cause
the ribs are ebing bent the way they should be normally)...
The Vacum bell sucks the hole out but it dosnt give any support to keep it out ....
This is just how I see it and hopefully im terribel wrong so surgeries will be outdatet  ....
Very cool to see the pics though 
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A.J.
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| Quote: | | What is "an exponential force"? |
An "exponent" is a term from mathematics: it's denoted by a smaller numeral, positioned just above and to the right of a written numeral
called a "base".
The exponent denotes a number of times the base is multiplied by itself:
"Base 3 to the fifth power ( exponent )" would be written out like this:
3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3
Another example:
X* ----> " X to the (asterisk) power ", where
"X" is the base, and the " * " is the exponent.
The term "exponential force" is actually a bit redundant in phrasing.
A "force", in physics, is a vector quantity, with both direction, and magnitude, i.e. "exponentially increasing", i.e.
compounding, i.e. "accelerating" qualities.
The relatively small amount of negative pressure created in the "mini-atmosphere" under the Bell,
results in a much greater, vastly ( exponentially ) increasing, corrective (pulling) force.
The deeper the indent, the greater these forces are.
What I'm still trying to figure out is what the negative pressure quantity represents: a base or an exponent, or perhaps a third or intermediate
quantity.
In simplest terms, at this point, I'd say each "pump" or squeeze of the bulb represents a factor equal to, let's say, the capacity of the
bulb. Such a factor is the same as the base.
The number of times chosen to pump the bulb would be the exponent.
The product of the base with its exponent, in this case, would be the resulting, vast pulling force under the Bell.
Mr. Klobe might be able to give a more thorough explanation.
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A.J.
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| Quote: | 'The device works better, the more severe the indent is.' That sounds almost to good to be true.
AJ - can you point towards some pictures that would illustrate this. I can see virtually little or no PE in the guy above. |
Peter, I understand your concerns. The picture shows the chest behaving as expected under the effects of the Vacuum Bell.
i.e. it's not going to look indented because the negative pressure is pulling out the dent.
Too bad there's not a "before" picture for that series of "during" and "after".
Maybe there is somewhere.
Users of the device in progressed stages will tell you that eventually the indented sternum draws very near or actually touches the inside of the
clear window, during treatment.
The effects of treatment sessions last for increasingly longer periods of time in later stages of treatment.
The redness goes away after a few hours at first, to maybe a few minutes later on. However, someone who's been using the device could more accurately
describe the effects.
| Quote: | | I would certainly be prepared to give the vaccum bell a try but would like to see some more evidence. |
Hopefully, the people here who are already using the device
will post pictures of their Vacuum Bell treatment and its progress.
| Quote: | | I can see my doctor looking at me as if I were nuts if I told him about this device. |
It's already happened to me. I went to a doctor who acted really paranoid and "anti" about it all. He was totally uncooperative.
I offered to leave a disc of information with him, in case anyone else visited him to complain about their indented chest ( since I know I'm not the
only one ). He sort of avoided it and said, "I can look it up on the internet".
( maybe he thought I was slipping him a virus or surveillance program or something ).
I think he was indeed afraid of liability, but I think he was also non-empathetic, non-identifying, for other reasons.
It doesn't seem like a big deal to me; much more reasonable than asking for help to get surgery.
He really acted like it was all some "[Censored]amamie scheme" .
I wish I would have had a copy of the medical study. That I would have bestowed at his office anyway.
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A.J.
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| Quote: | | A Nuss bar puts presure on the ribs and keeps the ribs under presure(holding the ribs if you like) The nuss bar does this for years! ,but if taken out
after 1-2 years the chest will fall back in.... |
The "ribs" near the sternum are actually costal cartilige, not bone, like the sternum.
It seems to me that cartilige would be more flexible/pliable than bone, which as already stated, does behave under the effects of the Vacuum Bell.
Re-currence after Nuss bar removal shows a potential, ultimate ineffectiveness of either treatment, unless given continued time and effort.
It seems to me that having the Vacuum Bell available for maintenance / continued treatment is rather convenient insurance in either case,
especially if a Nuss recipient does not plan on leaving the bar in indefinitely.
I have just thought of a way that surgeons could ensure that a Nuss correction "takes". I'll post about it after I get a couple of questions answered.
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A.J.
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| Quote: | | 'The device works better, the more severe the indent is.' That sounds almost to good to be true. |
From the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, "Vacuum Chest Wall Lifter" article:
" The suction cup used in our study was developed and tested by an engineer who had pectus excavatum (EK, third author); he developed this device as
an attempt to avoid surgery. From his professional experience, he knew that
even small negative pressure is capable of producing a much larger overall force,
as illustrated, for example, by the suction cup dent pullers used in automobile repairs. Biomechanical studies of active compression-decompression
cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices show that
the forces exerted on the lateral costal rim are higher the deeper the excavation "
| Quote: | | AJ - can you point towards some pictures that would illustrate this. I can see virtually little or no PE in the guy above. |
Also from the article, here's a before-and-after (only two months of Vacuum Bell treatment)
the already moderate-though-intermediate improvement ( from rather moderate p.e. as opposed to more severe ), supports the principle of "deeper
indent = greater corrective force exerted"
That is to say, if the before condition was deeper, then in principle, even greater lifting of the chest wall would be demonstrated.
I also am interested to see more severe "before" cases and "after".
other notes from the article:
"Even the moderate vacuum used in the cup is able to exert strong forces...
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A.J.
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...The force is, as demonstrated in the CT, strong enough to deform the far more rigid chest within minutes" :
( In this photo, due to chest wall configuration / asymmetry of the dent, it looks like they should rotate the vacuum bell about two or three degrees
to the left )
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A.J.
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other notes
from the PubMed article :
"All patients except 1 were satisfied with the suction cup procedure, although objective improvement, as shown by photographs and plaster casts, was
minimal in most cases.
The maximal lift achieved was 1 cm per month.
All patients improved body posture while using the suction cup. This seems to be the main affect of the suction cup."
One patient has finished therapy after 9 months with good results.
At follow-up, all patients were highly satisfied and continued to use the cup. One child requested surgery after a short trial because of discomfort
with the cup.
*Anyone planning to use the Vacuum Bell should realize that it is a gradual process. It is to be used as a relatively convenient, cost effective
therapy / maintenance, over a long term, if any permanent corrective results are to be obtained.
There is limited long term data on recurrence for the Nuss procedure, and none for the Vacuum Bell, except for its inventor, who no longer has p.e.
[ when did he first start using it? When did he stop? ]
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PEople
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Thanks alot for all the info...
I think I might see my doctor next week to try and conveince him to sign the form.
Anyone might have any advice as to what one should say to the doctor to conveince him?
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A.J.
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Make sure your doctor sees the medical study article.
Print it out ( with the photos ) and take it with you.
Also, have the medical journal available on CD media ( in web page form, and ".pdf" form, also available at the URL of the article.
After he has reviewed the article, tell the doctor you want to try the treatment.
Be sure to take the confirmation form with you.
Good Luck
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PEople
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Thank you...I will try that...
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DisplayBand
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This is a miracle. I really want to try this.
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Sjergiej
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Hey, I'm new here. Do you know where (in Europe) i can get this vacuum bell?
How much is it? Do you have any suggestions of importing this device?
I think i have mild/moderate pe i dont know exactly, soon i will post some photos.
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A.J.
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copy of confirmation form, and Mr. Klobe's contact info
You don't need to import it if you're already in Europe.
copy of confirmation form, and Mr. Klobe's contact info
Copy paste and print out this form. It must be completed by a doctor, and then faxed to Mr. Klobe, before he will sell a device to you.
For Vacuum Bell treatment
This is to confirm that the patient, ___________________, does NOT suffer from contraindications as follows:
A) Skeletal diseases that affect the firmness of the bones, such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (glass bones) and
Osteoporosis (diminution of the compact bone tissues).
B) Cases of Angiopathy, for instance, resulting from Marfan syndrome or an Aneurysm (abnormal extensions of the
arteries).
C) Coagulation dysfunctions, including Thrombopathy or Haemophilia (bleeding disorder).
This is also to confirm that ____________________ is willing to have a regular look after treatment progresses, in
order to assure that the treatment is still all right,
confirmed, by signature and practice stamp:
_______________________________
date:___________
Here's Mr. Klobe's contact info ( including fax number ):
Eckart Klobe
L 11, 3 D-68161
Mannheim
and
P.O.Box 10 18 29
D-68018 Mannheim
Phone +49 621 13528
Fax +49 621 102755
GERMANY
webmaster@trichterbrust.de
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Sjergiej
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Thanks v much for this information.
2 more questions before I go to the doctor:
Do I need some tests??
Does it cost 650.00 USD ??? 
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A.J.
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It costs @ 464 Euro ( = @ 650.00 USD )
It is being sold from Mannheim, Germany.
you don't really need any tests, other than to have a doctor confirm that you do not have:
*skeletal diseases ( osteoporosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, etc )
*angiopathy ( abnormally lengthened arteries, as caused by Marfan's Syndrome )
*coagulation disorders, such as thrombopathy or haemophilia ( bleeding disorder ).
Aside from anyone having any of those those three things, the VB is safe to use.
If a doc wanted to do CT scans for you, or cardiopulmonary testing, that's fine, but you don't need those tests to be granted purchase by the device
manufacturer.
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