• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.977-982
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• 1995

Early repair of complex congenital heart malformation may lead to life-threatening respiratory and hemodynamic embarrassment on sternal closure. We performed delayed sternal closure in nine neonates to avoid a fatal outcome in these situations. Primary elective open sternum was used in 8 [66.7% and primary sternal closure in 4 [33.3% of the 12 patients studied. one patient with primary sternal closure underwent delayed sternal reopening in the intensive care unit. Of the 9 patients with open sternum, 2 patients died of low cardiac output and acute renal failure respectively before delayed sternal closure. 7 patients could undergo delayed sternal closures 3 days after initial operation. The mean age at open cardiac procedure was 14.3 days [range 3 to 30 and mean preoperative weight was 3.4kg [range 2.8 to 4.1 . The aortic cross-clamping time was longer in the group with open sternum than the group with closed sternum [p=0.042 . There was no morbidity and mortality related to delayed sternal closure. Given the low morbidity and potential benifits, this technique should be used in neonates after open heart procedures when postoperative mediastinal compression produces frank low cardiac output or respiratoy compromise during a trial of sternal closure.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.308-310
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• 1982

During the closure of the sternum, following the mitral valve replacement for mitral stenoinsufficiency, hemodynamic instability with cardiac tamponade was developed. After transfusion of massive diuretics and albumin for a few times, reclosure of the sternum was attempted with development of hemodynamic instability. And so we decided delayed sternal closure. After 72 hours of mitral valve replacement, delayed sternal closure was done with success, and so we report this case with literatures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1377-1380
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• 1996

Severe hemodynamic dysfunction may follow after the closure of the median sternotomy in patients with myocardial edema, cardiac dilatation, and severe postoperative bleeding. In extreme cases, myocardial edema may be so severe that cardiac function is compromised merely by the edges of the open sternum touching the heart. Sternotomy remained open and delayed sternal closure is already described adjunct in complicated cardiac operations. We experi nced a case of delayed sternal closure after 16 hours of CABG using synthes DCP wide plate in a 54-year old obese female patient. Our experience conims that delayed sternal closure Is an effective at simple means of dealing with severe myocardial edema so we report this case with literature review.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.206-212
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• 2023

Background: Delayed sternal closure (DSC) is a useful option for patients with intractable bleeding and hemodynamic instability due to prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass and a preoperative bleeding tendency. Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) has been widely used for sternal wound problems, but only rarely for DSC, and its efficacy for mediastinal drainage immediately after cardiac surgery has not been well established. Therefore, we evaluated the usefulness of DSC using VAC in adult cardiac surgery. Methods: We analyzed 33 patients who underwent DSC using VAC from January 2017 to July 2022. After packing sterile gauze around the heart surface and great vessels, VAC was applied directly without sternal self-retaining retractors and mediastinal drain tubes. Results: Twenty-one patients (63.6%) underwent emergency surgery for conditions including type A acute aortic dissection (n=13), and 8 patients (24.2%) received postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Intractable bleeding (n=25) was the most common reason for an open sternum. The median duration of open sternum was 2 days (interquartile range [25th-75th pertentiles], 2-3.25 days) and 9 patients underwent VAC application more than once. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 27.3%. Superficial wound problems occurred in 10 patients (30.3%), and there were no deep sternal wound infections. Conclusion: For patients with an open sternum, VAC alone, which is effective for mediastinal drainage and cardiac decompression, had an acceptable superficial wound infection rate and no deep sternal wound infections. In adult cardiac surgery, DSC using VAC may be useful in patients with intractable bleeding or unstable hemodynamics with myocardial edema.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.1167-1174
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• 1997

We retrospectively reviewed a series of 20 patients treated with delayed sternal closure during a 5-year period from 1991 to 1996. Of the 2675 patients with cardiovascular su gery 20 underwent this procedure. Male and female ratio was 11:9, mean age was 6.4 months(range 7 days to 5 years). The indications included unstable hemodynamic profiles after open heart surgery due to myocardial edema and poor lung compliance(15), necessity of mechanical ventricular assist device due to weaning failure(3), and hypoxia after PAB(2). Sternum was closed at a mean interval of 102(range 4 to 213) hours after operation. During delayed sternal closure, central venous pressure was elevated(p<0.05). Mediastinitis and other wound problems did not occur. Sepsis developed in 2 patients and microorganism was confirmed in one of the two patients. Five patients died(mortality 25%). And two of 15 discharged patients died during follow-up period. Cumulative survival rate was 65.0% at 12 months and also 65.0% at 24 months.(Standard error was 10.7%) Delayed sternal closure Is considered to be a good method to decompress the hemodynamically compromised heart. Without that, it is not f asible to come off bypass or to decompress the heart. Of course. careful selection of the indication is imperative.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.517-522
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• 2002

Background: Congenital heart surgery may lead to myocardial swelling and hemodynamic instability. Delayed sternal closure may be beneficial in this setting. The purpose of this study was to assess mortality and mediastinal infection rate associated with delayed sternal closure after congenital heart surgery and to evaluate the risk factors which affect mortality and mediastinal infection rate. Material and Method: We retrospectively reviewed 40 patients who underwent delayed sternal closure after repair of congenital heart disease at Yonsei Cardiovascular Hospital, from January 1994 to May 2001. In these patients, we assessed the mortality and mediastinal infection rate, and evaluated their risk factors including operation time, bypass time, aortic cross clamp time, duration to sternal closure and postoperative artificial ventilation time. Mediastinal infection was defined to have positive culture in mediastinum. Result: Hemodynamic instability was the most common indication for delayed sternal closure(n=36) and other indications included postoperative bleeding(n=2) and conduit compression(n=2). The median age at operation was $14.4{\pm}33.4$months old(range, 2days-12years). The patients with postoperative bleeding and conduit compression were much older than the others. The sternum was left open for $4.5{\pm}3.4$ days(range, 1-20days). Overall mortality was 25%(10/40) and mediastinal infection occured in 24.3%(9/37) (3 patients were excluded in mediastinal infection for early death). In risk factor analyses, only aortic cross clamp time had statistical significance for mortality in univariate analyses. However, multivariate analyses revealed that there were no significant predictors for risk of mortality and mediastinal infection. Conclusion: Delayed sternal closure after repair of congenital cardiac disease had relatively high mortality and mediastinal infection rate. But, in patients with hemodynamic instability, postoperative bleeding and conduit compression after repair of congenital cardiac disease, delayed sternal closure may be an effective life saving method.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.89-92
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• 2014

An 8-year-old girl diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and Russell-Silver syndrome was admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit due to low cardiac output and multiple-organ dysfunction. The patient was placed on the heart transplant waiting list and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was performed as a bridge to transplantation. After 17 days, heart transplantation was performed. The donor was a 46-year-old female (weight, 50 kg; height, 150 cm). The donor:recipient weight ratio was 3.37:1. Because the dimension and volume of the recipient's thoracic cage were insufficient, the sternum could not be closed. Nine days after transplantation, the patient underwent delayed sternal closure. To obtain adequate space, we left the sternum 4.5 cm apart from each margin using four transverse titanium plates. A transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap was chosen to cover the wound. Due to the shortage of donors, a size-mismatched pediatric heart transplantation is sometimes unavoidable. Closure of the opened sternum of a transplant recipient can be challenging. Sternal reconstruction after an extremely oversized heart transplantation with transverse titanium plate fixation and a musculocutaneous flap can effectively achieve sternal closure and stability.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.336-343
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• 2019

Background Sternal rigid plate fixation (RPF) has been adopted in recent years in high-risk cases to reduce complications associated with steel wire cerclage, the traditional approach to sternal closure. While sternal RPF has been associated with lower complication rates than wire cerclage, it has its own complication profile that requires evaluation, necessitating a critical examination from a national perspective. This study will report the outcomes and associated risk factors of sternal RPF using a national database. Methods Patients undergoing sternal RPF from 2005 to 2016 in the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were identified. Demographics, perioperative information, and complication rates were reviewed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for postoperative complications. Results There were 381 patient cases of RPF identified. The most common complications included bleeding (28.9%), mechanical ventilation >48 hours (16.5%), and reoperation/readmission (15.2%). Top risk factors for complications included dyspnea (odds ratio [OR], 2.672; P<0.001), nonelective procedure (OR, 2.164; P=0.010), congestive heart failure (OR, 2.152; P=0.048), open wound (OR, 1.977; P=0.024), and operating time (OR, 1.005; P<0.001). Conclusions Sternal RPF is associated with increased rates of three primary complications: blood loss requiring transfusion, ventilation >48 hours, and reoperation/readmission, each of which affected over 15% of the study population. Smokers remain at an increased risk for surgical site infection and sternal dehiscence despite RPF's purported benefit to minimize these outcomes. Complications of primary versus delayed sternal RPF are roughly equivalent, but individual patients may perform better with one versus the other based on identified risk factors.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.775-780
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• 2001

We report a case of the successful anatomical correction of the Taussig-Bing anomaly associated with the interrupted aortic arch and intramural left coronary artery for an 38 day-old infant Aortic arch and neoaortic reconstructions were conducted without any prosthetic or pericardial patch. Intramural left coronary was separated from right one after partial detachment of aortic commissure and both coronary artery buttons were transferred separately to the proximal main pulmonary artery(nee-aorta). Delayed sternal closure was done 3 days after the operation and hospital discharge was delayed for a month because of postoperative pneumonia. Now he is 5 months old and free of symptoms and cardiac drugs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.729-733
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• 2000

Background: Recent trends suggest that minimally invasive cardiac surgery reduces postoperative morbidity and offers a cosmetic benefit. This study was performed to evaluate the CPB time, ACC time, OP time, ICU stay and postoperative hospital stay following a lower partial sternotomy and those of the median sternotomy. Material and Method: A group of 26 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery through lower partial sternotomy from August 1997 to July 1999(A group) were compared to 45 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery through median sternotomy from January 1996 to July 1997(B group). The mean ages(46.4$\pm$14.6 years, A group and 46.8$\pm$13.2 years, B group) were similar. Operations were performed with central cannula and antegrade/retrograde blood cardioplegia. Result: There was no death in each group. No differences were found in CPB time, ACC time, OP time, ICU stay and postoperative hospital stay. Postoperative complications were sternal splitting in a patient in group A and a patient with bleeding that required reoperation and a patient with delayed wound closure in group B. Conclusion: The lower partial sternotomy offered a cosmetic benefit, but does not significantly reduced the length of operative time and hospital stay. Minimally invasive cardiac surgery will be applied increasing because of the suggested advantage and choosing a proper operative technique will be helpful.