title: Delayed chest wall pain due to sternal wire sutures.
abstract: This report describes 18 patients with disabling chest wall pain due to one or more sternal wire sutures. The pain occurred from 2 to 84 months after a median sternotomy. The pain was described either as sharp and stabbing or as a deep-seated ache. The involved wires had an exaggerated fibrous tissue reaction surrounding the twisted portion. The adjacent noninvolved wires had minimal reaction. In the last 7 patients, serial sections of the fibrous tissue revealed entrapment of one or more sensory nerve fibers. In 6 of the 7 electrical potentials were measured and found to be elevated, indicating wire damage during twisting. Ferroxyl tests confirmed the collection of iron ions at this anodic point as a result of corrosion. Removal of the involved wires and the fibrous tissue surrounding this anodic point relieved the symptoms of pain and tenderness resulting from entrapped sensory nerves.
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38104.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Eastridge
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mahfood
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D001864:Bone Wires; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D003343:Corrosion; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D013193:Stainless Steel; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013537:Sutures
chemical_list: D013193:Stainless Steel