Figure-of-Eight Wire Sternal Closure Technique Can Reduce Post-Open Cardiovascular Surgery Chest Re- Exploration and Pain Scores in Diabetic Patients with Severe Obesity (Body Mass Index: 35-40)

Background. Postoperative sternal instability can be associated with the density of bone and type of wire closure. Sternal instability is a serious complication, especially in diabetic obese patients. This category of patients is susceptible to activation of inflammation and inflammatory and/or infective involvement of the sternum after sternotomy. This study was designed to evaluate the comparison of safety and efficacy of figure-of-eight with simple wire sternal closure technique in high-risk diabetic severe obese patients [Body mass index (BMI): 35-40]. Methods and materials. This study, conducted on 80 diabetic patients with severe obesity (BMI: 35-40) undergoing elective off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in duration from the first day to two weeks after surgery. Sternal wire closure techniques are divided into two groups, group A (n=40), patients undergoing simple wire closure and group B (n=40), patients undergoing figure-of-eight wire closure. Results. The average age of patients was 64.7±13.2 years. According to the patient self-rated numeric pain intensity scale, the pain of sternum related to existing of wire closure was classified to mild [(group A: n=14), (group B: n=17)], moderate [(group A: n=14), (group B: 19)], and severe [(group A: n=12), (group B: 4)]. Postoperative pain scores had significant higher difference in simple closure than figure-of-eight technique. From all patients, three cases with figure-of-eight and seven cases with simple wire closure had chest re-exploration after surgery. Chest re-exploration in group of figure-of-eight was lower than group of simple closure significantly (p=0.03). Postoperative utilization of inotropic agents, mediastinitis, cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and atrial fibrillation (AF) had not significant differences between both techniques. Conclusion. These findings show that figure-of-eight sternal wire closure technique can reduce postoperative pain scores and chest re-exploration significantly in diabetic patients with severe obesity.