HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Jarmo Lahtinen Jari Satta Juha Nissinen Risto Pokela Tatu Juvonen Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lahtinen, J. Articles by Juvonen, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lahtinen, J. Articles by Juvonen, T.

Ann Thorac Surg 1998;66:1264-1268
© 1998 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

---

Original articles: cardiovascular

Computed tomographic evaluation of retrosternal adhesions after pericardial substitution

^a Department of Surgery, Oulu University Hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
^b Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

Accepted for publication April 27, 1998.

Address reprint requests to Dr Satta, Department of Surgery, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 52 A, FIN-90220 Oulu, Finland

Background. Reoperative median sternotomy can result in cardiac injury and serious bleeding, with the rate ranging from 2% to 6%. Closure of the native pericardium can maintain a preventing plane of cleavage. In patients in whom primary pericardial closure is not possible, several substitutes have been tried with variable results. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the clinical feasibility of polytetrafluoroethylene and polyglycolic acid patches as pericardial substitutes, using computed tomography for imaging the postoperative state of the retrosternal space.

Methods. The basic population comprised 540 patients who were scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting, and 52 of them who met the research criteria were chosen for computed tomographic evaluation after 5 years after the primary operation.

Results. As a substitute, polytetrafluoroethylene seemed to be less adhesive to the posterior surface of the sternum. Total adhesion scores were also statistically significant (p < 0.001) to the advantage of polytetrafluoroethylene over polyglycolic acid as a pericardial substitute.

Conclusions. Polytetrafluoroethylene membrane seems to be capable of minimizing retrosternal adhesion formation and thus it may protect the heart during subsequent reoperative sternotomy.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. Yoshioka, Y. Saiki, A. Ichinose, K. Takase, S. Takahashi, T. Ohashi, M. Sato, and K. Tabayashi Tagged cine magnetic resonance imaging with a finite element model can predict the severity of retrosternal adhesions prior to redo cardiac surgery J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., April 1, 2009; 137(4): 957 - 962. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Saha, W. McEwan, F. A Frizelle, and H. Singh Limiting Pericardial Adhesions after Coronary Artery Bypass: Experimental Study Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann, March 1, 2004; 12(1): 61 - 64. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Katayama, T. Masui, S. Kobayashi, T. Ito, H. Sakahara, A. Nozaki, and H. Kabasawa Evaluation of Pelvic Adhesions Using Multiphase and Multislice MR Imaging with Kinematic Display Am. J. Roentgenol., July 1, 2001; 177(1): 107 - 110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Leprince, M. Rahmati, N. Bonnet, V. Bors, A. Rama, Ph. Leger, I. Gandjbakhch, and A. Pavie Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes to wrap surfaces of circulatory support devices in patients undergoing bridge to heart transplantation Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., March 1, 2001; 19(3): 302 - 306. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]