EXPOSED PROSTHESIS OF A COMPLEX RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ASCENDING AORTAAND AORTIC-ARCH IN A STERNAL WOUND-INFECTION - SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT BY A PECTORAL MUSCLE FLAP

A local wound infection developed in a 42-year-old female patient afte r replacement of ascending aorta, aortic arch and supra-aortic vessels , following aortic dissection. Because of the high risk of infection d ue to the vascular prosthesis and its location at the upper part of th e sternum, a right pectoral muscular nap, detached from the humerus an d vascularized by medial perforators originating from the internal mam mary artery, was isolated. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient remains well 16 months after the operation. (C) 1998 Else vier Science B.V.