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 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 Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kunisawa, S. Articles by Miyake, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kunisawa, S. Articles by Miyake, Y. Related Collections Chest wall

---

Case Reports

Chronic Expanding Hematoma in Sternum Resected 5 Years After Median Sternotomy

^a Division of Thoracic Surgery, Kochi Health Sciences Center, Kochi City, Kochi, Japan
^b Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kochi Health Sciences Center, Kochi City, Kochi, Japan

Accepted for publication October 23, 2007.

^_* Address correspondence to Dr Kunisawa, Division of the Thoracic Surgery, Kochi Health Sciences Center, 2125-1, Ike, Kochi City, Kochi, 781-8555, Japan (Email: susumu_kunisawa{at}khsc.or.jp).

Chronic expanding hematomas occur at various locations in the body; however, their occurrence in the sternum has not been reported yet. We report a patient with chronic expanding hematoma in the sternum 5 years after undergoing a median sternotomy for cardiac surgery. Although preoperative biopsy specimens did not lead to a definitive diagnosis, we could not rule out the possibility of a malignant tumor because of the expanding and infiltrative behavior of the hematoma. We performed a sternectomy and reconstructed the chest wall using artificial materials.