title: A cheaper substitute for skin closure in open sternum technique.
abstract: Delayed sternal closure is a life saving method in pediatric open heart surgery. We have used a sterile PVC bag sutured to two pieces of chest tubes to close the sternal defect. This is used as a cheaper substitute, which is available in every operating room which can be used as an alternative to PTFE or bovine patch closure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey. kmetin@yahoo.com
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Metin
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oto
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride; D012867:Skin; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013536:Suture Techniques
chemical_list: D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride