title: Advanced sternal closure to prevent dehiscence in obese patients.
abstract: Sternal dehiscence is a frequent complication after cardiac surgical procedures. The objective was to evaluate a novel method for advanced sternal closure compared with standard techniques for preventing sternal dehiscence. Our investigation comprised 100 patients with a body mass index above 32. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either advanced sternal closure with three stainless steel double wires or standard techniques with stainless steel single wires. The incidence of sternal refixation was 6 of 50 patients in the standard techniques group and 1 of 50 in the advanced sternal closure group during a follow-up period of 6 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Klinikum Ludwigshafen, Ludwigshafen, Germany. kiesslia@klilu.de
authors.forename: Arndt-H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kiessling
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Isgro
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Weisse
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Möltner
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Saggau
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boldt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome