Surgical outcomes of sternal rigid plate fixation from 2005 to 2016 using the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

CONCLUSIONS: Sternal RPF is associated with increased rates of three primary complications: blood loss requiring transfusion, ventilation >48 hours, and reoperation/readmission, each of which affected over 15% of the study population. Smokers remain at an increased risk for surgical site infection and sternal dehiscence despite RPF's purported benefit to minimize these outcomes. Complications of primary versus delayed sternal RPF are roughly equivalent, but individual patients may perform better with one versus the other based on identified risk factors. PMID: 31336422 [PubMed]
Source: Archives of Plastic Surgery - Category: Cosmetic Surgery Tags: Arch Plast Surg Source Type: research