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Complete Vacuum‐Assisted Sternal Closure Following Neonatal Cardiac Surgery
Author(s) -
Oeltjen John C.,
Panos Anthony L.,
Salerno Tomas A.,
Ricci Marco
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of cardiac surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.428
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1540-8191
pISSN - 0886-0440
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8191.2009.00902.x
Subject(s) - medicine , closure (psychology) , cardiac surgery , surgery , sternum , market economy , economics
Vacuum‐assisted closure (VAC) has been used with success in the management of adults and children with sternal infections. However, this technique has not been applied previously to neonates requiring delayed sternal closure as the sole modality of therapy. In this article, we describe the management of two newborns with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in whom complete sternal wound healing was accomplished solely by using the VAC system. The implications of this new modality of treatment are discussed.