Non-infectious Sternal Dehiscence After Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Introduction: Non-infectious sternal dehiscence (NISD) is a known complication following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), with previous studies estimating an incidence of 0.4-1% of surgeries. We aimed to study the incidence of NISD together with short- and long-term outcomes in a whole-nation cohort of patients.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study on consecutive CABG patients diagnosed with NISD at Landspitali from 2001 to 2020. Patients diagnosed with infectious mediastinitis (n = 20) were excluded. NISD patients were compared to patients with an intact sternum regarding patient demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, intra- and postoperative data, and estimated overall survival. The median follow-up was 9.5 years.

Results: Twenty out of 2280 eligible patients (0.88%) developed NISD, and the incidence did not change over the study period (p = 0.98). The median time of diagnosis was 12 days postoperatively (range, 4-240). All patients were re-operated using a Robicsek-rewiring technique, with two cases requiring a titanium plate for fixation. Patients with NISD were older, had a higher BMI and EuroSCORE II, lower LVEF, and more often had a history of COPD, MI, and diabetes compared to those without NISD. Length of stay was extended by 15 days for NISD patients, but short and long-term survival was not statistically different between the groups.

Conclusions: The incidence of NISD was low and in line with previous studies. Although the length of hospital stay was extended, both short- and long-term survival of NISD patients was not significantly different from patients with an intact sternum.