Reabsorbable Pins can Reinforce an Early Sternal Stability After Median Sternotomy in Young Children with Congenital Heart Disease

Sternal Pin Used to Close Sternum in Infants after Cardiac Surgery

OBJECTIVE

A retrospective study was conducted to explore the efficacy of bioabsorbable poly-L-lactic acid sternal pins in sternal closure in infants after cardiac surgery.

METHODS

A total of 170 infantile patients who underwent cardiac surgery were divided into the steel wire group (group A), the PDS cord group (group B), and the steel wire + sternal pin group (group C). The occurrence of the thoracic deformity was evaluated by vertebral index (VI), frontosagittal index (FSI), and Haller index (HI) values; the stability of the sternum was evaluated by detecting sternal dehiscence and displacement.

RESULTS

By comparing the absolute values of the differences in VI, FSI, and HI in the three groups, it was found that the difference values of VI and HI in group C were significantly lower than those in group B (p = 0.028 and 0.005). For the highest deformation index, the deformation rate of infants in group C before discharge and during the 1-year follow-up was lower than that in group A and group B (p = 0.009 and 0.002, respectively). The incidence of sternal displacement in group C was also significantly lower than that in groups A and B (p = 0.009 and 0.009). During the 1-year follow-up, there was no sternal dehiscence, and the sternum healed completely in the three groups.

CONCLUSION

The use of "steel wire + sternal pin" for sternal closure in infants after cardiac surgery can reduce the occurrence of sternal deformity, reduce anterior and posterior displacement of the sternum, and improve sternal stability.