Sternal dehiscence is a recognised complication after median sternotomy, occurring in 0.5-5% of cases with or without infection. A 72-year-old man presenting with collapse and ventricular tachycardia was investigated for a possible acute cardiac event 2 years after coronary artery bypass grafting for ischemic heart disease. Work-up chest X-ray showed displacement of all sternal wires, and compu...

Median sternotomy can be associated with significant morbidity, including non-union, dehiscence and mediastinitis. The use of flexible thermoreactive sternal clips has been introduced recently as an alternative method of sternal closure and is advocated in patients at increased risk of sternal breakdown. It is associated with a decreased incidence of sternal complications as well as allowing fa...

BACKGROUND Sternal instability with mediastinitis is a very serious complication after median sternotomy. Biomechanical studies have suggested superiority of rigid plate fixation over wire cerclage for sternal fixation. This study tests the hypothesis that sternal closure stability can be improved by adding plate fixation in a human cadaver model. METHODS Midline sternotomy was performed in 1...

OBJECTIVE Sternal bleeding during cardiac surgery is currently controlled using bone wax or other chemical substances that may result in adverse effects and affect wound healing and recovery. The purpose of this study was to identify a safe, cost-effective, and easy-to-use technique to reduce sternal bleeding and sternal trauma during cardiac surgery. METHODS After sternotomy, a sternal prote...

background: the purpose of this study was to describe the association of mthfr gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (c677t and a1298c) and maternal supplementary folate intake with orofacial clefts in the iranian population. methods: in this case-control study, peripheral venous blood was taken from 65 patients with orofacial clefts and 215 unaffected controls for dna extraction and kept in edt...

a 39-year-old pregnant woman at 38 weeks of gestation was referred with labor pain to a hospital. she had consanguinity with her husband. a female newborn had multiple craniofacial anomalies and phocomelia in right upper limb. the disease locus was assigned to chromosome17q21. four days later, infant died of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Sternal dehiscence is one of the most troublesome complications following cardiac surgery. Treatment failure and consequent lethal results are very common, even with all the efforts to resolve sternal dehiscence such as removal of infectious tissue, muscle flap interposition, and sternal rewiring. We report on a case of sternal osteomyelitis following coronary artery bypass grafting that was su...