Improved sternal closure using steel bands: early experience with three-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Use of stainless steel wires in median sternotomy closure is at times associated with serious complications. In view of this, the efficacy and safety of a stainless steel band designed for fixation and approximation of the sternum in cardiothoracic procedures was evaluated in a prospective, randomized study. METHODS: Forty-eight patients undergoing open heart operations that involved a median sternotomy were studied. Group I (n = 21) was closed with four to six steel bands, and group II (n = 27) with six to eight standard stainless steel wires. The average age of the patients and the risk factors predisposing to dehiscence were similar in both groups. RESULTS: One postoperative death occurred in each group due to cardiac failure. In group I, the mean length of the postoperative hospital stay was 10.2 +/- 1.76 days (+/- 2 standard errors), whereas in group II the mean was 13.9 +/- 3.4 days (+/- 2 standard errors). Banded patients complained less of postoperative pain, although statistical significance was not achieved. No problems arose in either group during the 3-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The steel bands, compared with wires, provided not only effective fixation, but a reduction in both postoperative pain and postoperative hospital stay. The band is now being studied in a larger group of patients to evaluate the incidence and type of complications associated with its use, as well as length of postoperative hospital stay.