Background: Sternal wound infection leading to post-operative mediastinitis is a devastating complication of cardiac surgery carrying nearly a 15% mortality rate despite current treatment methods. Contemporary techniques of sternal closure in attempt to prevent complications are all based upon non-rigid methods of osteosynthesis. Instability of bone fragments predisposes a patient to have non-union, mal-union and subsequent sternal wound infection during the process of healing. In order to prevent instability, rigid plate fixation has been utilized for acquired and surgically created fractures of virtually every bone in the body. While most fractures and osteotomies benefit from rigid fixation techniques, the current standard for sternal osteotomy closure remains the non-rigid method of circlage wires. Application of rigid plate fixation for sternal osteotomies affords greater stability and thus a decreased opportunity for non-union, mal-union and subsequent sternal wound infection to occur. A safe, efficient and effective technique for rigid fixation of sterna is described.

Methods: Since July of 2000, rigid plate fixation has been applied to 45 patients designated as having high risk for sternal dehiscence and subsequent mediastinitis. High risk was defined as patients having 3 or more established historical risk factors, including: COPD, Re-Operative Surgery, Renal Failure, Diabetes, Chronic Steroid Use, Morbid Obesity, Concurrent Infection and Acquired or Iatrogenic Immunosuppression. Patients were selected by cardiac surgeons, and rigid plate fixation was performed by a single plastic surgeon.

Results: Rigid plate fixation was performed on 26 males and 19 females. The average age of patients was 63 (43-88) years. The average follow-up was 15 weeks (range 8 to 41 weeks). While there were 4 peri-operative deaths unrelated to sternal closure: one from aspiration pneumonia (postoperative day 9), one from a pulmonary embolus (postoperative day 29), one from overwhelming sepsis from pre-existing endocarditis (postoperative day 15), and primary respiratory failure (postoperative day 12), all others healed successfully. Finally, there was one patient who had a sterile dehiscence who subsequently underwent successful re-operative rigid fixation. Comparing the cohort of patients who received rigid plate fixation to a matched population of high-risk patients during a similar time period who received wire closure, revealed a significant difference in the incidence of post-operative mediastinitis. The wire closed group (n=207) had 18 deaths unrelated to sternal closure and had 28 patients who developed mediastinitis (14.8%). The rigid plate fixation group had an incidence of 0 (Fisher’s exact test p=0.006). The total incidence of post-operative mediastinitis during the designated study period was 4.2%.

Conclusions: The techniques of rigid fixation, first made popular in long bone fractures, have been translated into virtually every bone in the body. Due to the proven merits of increased stability and decreased incidence of non-union, mal-union and infection, the principles of rigid fixation have caused paradigm shifts away from wire fixation of bone for maxillofacial surgeons and more recently neurosurgeons. The merits of rigid fixation have been directly translated to the sternum in a safe, efficient and effective manner. Patients who benefited from sternal closure with rigid plate fixation showed a significant decrease in the incidence of post-operative mediastinitis when compared to matched population of patients whose sterna were closed with wire.