Primary repair of sternal cleft with a double osteochondroplasty flap

Sternal cleft is a rare congenital malformation affecting the anterior part of the chest wall. Surgical closure is recommended. It should be done early during the neonatal period because of the chest's flexibility. Associated abnormalities may have been previously excluded. Different surgical repairs have been described, but none has been proved to be superior to the others. We present the description of 2 cases managed with an original surgical technique. After dissecting the two sternal bars, they were approximated with several intercostal sutures under close cardiac and respiratory monitoring. A double perichondrium flap technique was then used and resulted in a double perichondrium layer. This technique is suitable for most cases and offers satisfying anatomical restoring and cosmetic results.