A wire-cutting clamp designed to reduce complications during sternotomy closure.
OBJECTIVE
Sternal wire placement frequently results in glove disruption, wound contamination and personnel skin puncture. The described cutting clamp was developed to simplify sternotomy closure and reduce complications.


METHODS
Informed consent was obtained from 103 patients who underwent a variety of common cardiac surgical procedures. In each instance, once the cardiac portion of the procedure was completed, the median sternotomy was closed using standard sternal wires and the described cutting clamps. A single set of clamps was repeatedly re-sterilized and used for all cases.


RESULTS
There were no incidents of unintentional clamp release, glove disruption or personnel skin punctures from the wire. None of the patients had clinically evident sternal wound infections or nonunion. There were no deaths. The functional attributes of the clamps remained constant throughout the study, and no significant wear was detected on the carbide inserts or other components of the clamps.


CONCLUSIONS
The sternal wire-cutting clamp simplifies sternal closure and should reduce complications.
Drake
Daniel H
DH
Department of Surgery, Section of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Munson Medical Center, Traverse City, Michigan, USA. tcbulldog@charter.net
D001864:Bone Wires; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods*