Sternal reconstruction in a patient with postoperative mediastinitis
Keywords:
Postoperative mediastinitis; Sternal infection; Risk factors; Sternal reconstructionAbstract
Postoperative mediastinitis is a severe infection with an incidence of 0.5-3% and a mortality rate that can exceed 20%. This article presents the case of a 58-year-old woman with risk factors who developed this complication following mitral valve replacement, presenting with purulent drainage, sternal instability, and chest pain. Diagnosis is primarily based on clinical findings such as these, while factors like diabetes, COPD, and bilateral internal mammary artery harvesting increase the risk. Successful management required a multidisciplinary approach that combined aggressive surgical debridement, prolonged culture-guided antibiotic therapy, and definitive reconstruction using specialized techniques tailored to the defect classification, ultimately achieving resolution of the infectious process.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Daniel Hernández-Torres, Gustavo de J. Bermúdez Yera, José R. Valdés-González, Roger Mirabal Rodríguez, Carlos A. Santana Santana, Eduardo Pérez Correa
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