OBJECTIVES Various comparative studies and techniques have been described for median sternotomy closure in the literature, previously. However, some patients are still under risk of sternal dehiscence, malunion or nonunion due to intrinsic or extrinsic factors after median sternotomy closure. Sternal nonunion described as sternal pain, with clicking, instability, or both for more than 3 months ...

Sternal dehiscence is a serious complication after cardiac surgery. Sternal refixation, performed by simple rewiring or techniqual modification of rewiring as described by Robicsek, can fail, overall when the bone quality is poor or the sternum is completely destroyed. The sternal closure systems, consisting of plates, screws or rib clips and titanium bars, have been recently introduced to trea...

We report an unusual case in which a patient presented with a large posterior mediastinal goiter that extended to the level of the aorta. The goiter was resected through a standard Kocher neck incision with mediastinoscopic assistance. The large goiter was completely excised without the need for a sternotomy.

BACKGROUND Anatomical variations of the sternal angle and anomalies of the sternum are unique happenings of major clinical significance.It is known that misplaced sternal angles may lead to inaccurate counting of ribs and create challenges with intercostal nerve blocks and needle thoracostomies. Sternal foramina may pose a great hazard during sternal puncture, due to inadvertent cardiac or grea...

Intrathoracic goiter is commonly located in the anterior mediastinum. Here we report a case of a 58-year-old Chinese male in whom we successfully removed the intrathoracic goiter and eased his dyspnea by a right posterolateral thoracotomy approach. Posterior mediastinal thyroid goiter with mediastinal compressive symptoms is an indication of surgery.

Background: Goiter is not frequently seen in the neonatal period.Case report: We report the case of a full-term neonate who was born with anterior neck swelling and observed tosuffer from congenital goiter on examination. Thyroid function tests were within normal limits. Thyroid swellinggradually reduced in size during the 1st week of life. All the cases of congenital goiter t...

goiter is common among growing children and adolescents but thyrotoxicosis is a rare thyroid disorder in this age prevalence of thyrotoxicosis and clinical presentation in prevalence of thyrotoxicosis and clinical presentation of the disease among children and adolescents of the disease among children and adolescents presenting for goiter at the clinics of pediatric presenting for goiter at the...

Sternal non-union is a severe complication of sternotomy closure following open heart surgeries. Healing problems typically occur in 0.3% to 5% of patients. Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) bone scintigraphy has been used to assess bone nonunion to predict the healing response for proper management.  In this report, we present the case of a marked sternal nonunio...

The use of crutches following a sternotomy raises the concern of sternal dehiscence. We discuss secure reinforced sternal closure, classify sternal distractional forces and discuss the postoperative mobilization process.

BACKGROUND Deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery carries high morbidity and mortality. Our strategy for deep sternal wound infection is aggressive strenal debridement followed by vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy and omental-muscle flap reconstrucion. We describe this strategy and examine the outcome and long-term quality of life (QOL) it achieves. METHODS We retrospectively ...