Sternal osteitis, a potential consequence of cardiac surgery, remains rare. The bacteria involved belong mostly to the genus Staphylococcus. Sternal infections caused by Serratia marcescens are exceptional. We report an unusual recurrence of sternal infection with S. marcescens, 15 years after the initial episode. The identities of the isolates were determined by genomic analysis.

Method Methods and outcomes of sternal closure were reviewed in consecutive patients undergoing a variety of cardiothoracic surgical procedures. Sternal closure in the historical control group was performed using trans-sternal, stainlesssteel wire sutures; subsequent patients were closed using wire sutures together with a novel, peristernal cable-tie closure system to reinforce the corpus stern...

BackgroundCleft lip and cleft palate (also, known as or facial clefts), are amongst the most common congenital deformities affecting the jaw and face as well as the most common defects associated with lip and palate. Thus, the current study was an attempt to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of or facial clefts in Iranian children.Materials and Methods:The present study, was conducted...

OBJECTIVES Mechanical complications of median sternotomy may cause significant morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgical patients. This study was aimed at assessing the role of Posthorax support vest (Epple, Inc., Vienna, Austria) in the prevention of sternal complications and the improvement of anatomical healing in patients at high risk for mechanical sternal dehiscence after cardiac surger...

Redo open-heart surgery and sternal reentry in patients with previous deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) and absence of sternal integrity can be a delicate and morbid task due the lack of a dissection plane between the heart and the surrounding soft tissues. Delayed sternal reconstruction and osteosynthesis with horizontal titanium plating fixation (Synthes) following vacuum assisted therapy (...

[Purpose] To investigate the effects of combined chest expansion and breathing exercises in a patient with sternal pain. [Subject and Methods] The study subject was a 36-year-old female employed as a babysitter who complained of sternal pain at the T1-4 level. The subject performed the combined chest expansion and breathing exercises. [Results] The thoracic kyphosis angle after combined chest e...

Figure 1. Mediastinal defect with exposed pros-thetic aortic root graft. DESCRIPTION A 70-year-old woman with short stature and hypermastia underwent ascending aortic aneurysm repair with a prosthetic graft, complicated by postoperative mediastinitis and sternal dehiscence. She was treated with aggressive sternal debridement and negative pressure wound therapy for 1 week (Fig 1) prior to defini...