Objective: Median sternotomy was performed by 2 different techniques in order to determine whether there was a difference in the incidence of inadvertent pleural entry.
Experimental design: Patients were prospectively evaluated and reviewed at a mean follow-up interval of 8.2 months.
Patients and methods: Ninety five consecutive patients underwent primary sternotomy at a single tertiary referral center.
Measures: Planned outcome measures included, incidence of pleural entry, length of hospitalization, and chest tube site related postoperative morbidity.
Results: Group 1 (n=49) had sternotomy undertaken from the sternal notch proceeding downwards. Group 2 (n=46) underwent sternotomy performed from the xiphoid upwards. Mediastinal evaluation revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of pleural violation for group 1 (3) versus group 2 (11) (p=0.014). This difference was not found to be surgeon specific.
Conclusions: Sternotomy undertaken from the sternal notch proceeding downwards is shown to be associated with a reduced incidence of inadvertent pleural entry. Potential advantages for this approach also include reduced respiratory morbidity, less chest tube site complications and a trend to reduced length of hospitalization.