Postoperative transverse sternal nonunion with a chest wall defect managed by a tibial locking plate and a Gore-Tex dual mesh membrane: a case report

Background Transverse sternal nonunion is a rare but disabling complication of chest trauma or a transverse sternotomy. Fixation methods, mainly used to manage the more common longitudinal sternal nonunion, often fail, leaving the surgical treatment of transverse nonunion to be a challenge. Case presentation We present a case of a highly-disabling, postoperative chest wall defect resulting from transverse sternal nonunion after a transverse thoracosternotomy (clamshell incision) and a concomitant rib resection. Following unsuccessful surgical attempts, the sternal nonunion was fixed with a tibial locking plate and bone grafted, while the post-rib resection chest defect was reconstructed with a Gore-Tex dual mesh membrane. Adequate chest stability was achieved, enabling complete healing of the sternal nonunion and the patient’s complete recovery. Conclusion We believe it is important to address both in the rare case of combined postoperative transverse sternal nonunion and the chest wall defect after rib resection. A good outcome was achieved in our patient by fixing the nonunion with an appropriately sized and shaped locking plate with bone grafting and covering the chest defect with a dual mesh membrane.

Large mediastinal germ cell tumor with disease progression during systemic therapy

A 29-year-old male developed acute onset severe shortness of breath and fevers and was found to have a 17 cm anterior mediastinal mass with immature teratoma and possible mixed germ cell tumor on biopsy. He remained hospitalized during neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy due to compressive symptoms from his mass and neutropenic fevers. Despite 3 cycles of therapy, his tumor mildly increased in size. After multidisciplinary discussion, he underwent urgent en bloc resection with a right hemi-clamshell incision. His postoperative course was uncomplicated and he was discharged to home within a week. His final pathology demonstrated mixed germ cell tumor.

Postoperative transverse sternal nonunion with a chest wall defect managed by a tibial locking plate and a Gore-Tex dual mesh membrane: a case report.

Background: Transverse sternal nonunion is a rare but disabling complication of the chest trauma or less commonly a transverse sternotomy. Fixation methods, which are mainly used to manage the more common longitudinal sternal nonunion, often fail leaving surgical treatment of transverse nonunion as a challenge.Case presentation: We present a case of a highly disabling postoperative chest wall defect resulting from transverse sternal nonunion after a transverse thoracosternotomy (clamshell incision) and a concomitant rib resection. Following unsuccessful surgical attempts, sternal nonunion was fixed by a tibial locking plate and bone grafted, while the chest defect after the rib resection was reconstructed by a Gore-Tex dual mesh membrane. Adequate chest stability was achieved enabling complete healing of the sternal nonunion and a good outcome in our patient.Conclusion: We believe that in a rare combined postoperative transverse sternal nonunion and the chest wall defect after rib resection, it is important to address both. In our patient a good outcome was achieved after fixing nonunion by a properly sized and shaped locking plate with bone grafting and covering the chest defect by a dual mesh membrane.

Harvesting left internal thoracic artery via clamshell incision for coronary bypass and lung transplant

Concomitant lung transplantation and coronary artery bypass grafting operation became more prevalent over the last decade due to the advanced age of recipients. Median sternotomy approach is traditionally used when internal thoracic artery is utilized. Here we report a technique of harvesting the left internal thoracic artery via a clamshell incision for a combined coronary artery bypass and bilateral lung transplant operation in a 71-year-old male with terminal respiratory failure and coronary artery disease.

Surgical difficulties with a giant carcinoid in the anterior mediastinum

Atypical carcinoid in the anterior mediastinum is a rare neoplasm. In our case the huge mediastinal carcinoid was treated with surgery using a median sternotomy and clamshell incision because of the extension of the tumor. We describe our difficulties under the surgery and take a look at the literature.

Left main bronchial sleeve resection with total lung parenchymal preservation: a tailored surgical approach

Bronchial sleeve resection is an uncommon thoracic surgical procedure. Under specific conditions, patients can be selected to undergo a sleeve resection of the main bronchus with complete parenchymal preservation. The left main bronchus is longer than the contralateral bronchus, therefore left endobronchial tumours can be localized at the proximal end of the bronchus or distally, near the secondary carina. Bronchial anastomosis in these 2 situations requires different approaches. We present the surgical technique of left main bronchus resection with complete preservation of lung parenchyma through a hemi-clamshell incision (proximal tumour) or posterolateral thoracotomy (distal tumour).