Primary versus Delayed Sternal Closure in Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation Patients: Impact on Infection

Postoperative delayed chest closure (DCC) in LVAD patients, is often required in cases of bleeding due to coagulopathy or right heart distention. Despite the absence of data about the increased risk of infection, this bias limits the use of DCC in most centers. We retrospectively analyzed patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) who underwent DCC in our center and evaluated the impact of this approach on postoperative infection rates.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Tags: 228 Source Type: research