title: Repair of the dehisced median sternotomy incision.
abstract: Mediastinitis after open-heart surgery is a potentially disabling, even lethal, condition. The utilization of muscle flaps in treatment has lowered the mortality rate from 40 to 5 per cent and decreased the hospitalization time to 12 days. The authors recommend a single reverse turnover pectoralis major flap based on the internal mammary perforators as the procedure of choice in these cases.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nahai
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008480:Mediastinitis / Q000628:therapy; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000601:surgery*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000628:therapy