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Reinforced closure of the sternum with absorbable pins for high-risk patients

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Nagahama City Hospital, Nagahama, Japan

*Corresponding author. 1300-7 Nagara, Gifu City, 502-8558, Japan. Tel.: +81-58-232-7755; fax: +81-58-295-0077.

E-mail address: masamasatsugu{at}nifty.com (M. Hamaji).

We report our result of the reinforced sternal closure in 51 consecutive patients. We applied a new type of absorbable radiopaque pins (Super FIXSORB^®) composed of poly-lactide acid and hydroxyapatite, in addition to conventional stainless steel wires. The risk scores of our patients were calculated from the simplified risk scoring system for major infection based on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database. The expected probability of infection is significantly higher than the actual infection rate in our patients. Our procedure may contribute to minimizing the fatal sternal complication particularly in high-risk patients.

Key Words: Sternum; Wound closure