Median Sternotomy Wires
Location: Heart and Mediastinum, Chest Wall
Wires used to close the surgical sternotomy, typically after cardiac or mediastinal surgery. Wires may tied in several fashions, e.g. cerclage, figure-of-eight. Very small wires are indicative of prior pediatric surgery, i.e. congenital heart disease.
Wires may fracture if the sternotomy is nonunited and there is motion. This is typically of no significance. However, in the immediate post-surgical setting wire fracture or wire migration can indicate sternal dehiscence.
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