title: Upper Sternal Cleft With a Complex Congenital Heart Defect: Repair in a Single Stage.
abstract: Sternal clefts are extremely rare in association with complex congenital heart defects, and their management can be challenging. Complete surgical repair in early infancy, of both anomalies in a single stage, is advocated. Different surgical techniques exist for isolated sternal cleft repair, but they do not consider the difficulties of combining sternal defect closure and a cardiac operation with the unavoidable postoperative cardiac edema. We describe a successful surgical technique to repair a sternal cleft in a 3-month-old infant in a concomitant cardiac operation using an absorbable polyglactin 910 mesh plate and sternal osseous autografting to avoid postoperative cardiac distention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Bordeaux Heart University Hospital, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Yamani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Pellegrin-Enfant Hospital, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lavrand
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Bordeaux Heart University Hospital, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Benoit
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Thambo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Bordeaux Heart University Hospital, Bordeaux, France. Electronic address: francois.roubertie@chu-bordeaux.fr.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roubertie
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000601:surgery*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009139:Musculoskeletal Abnormalities / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D013249:Sternum / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery