Monofilament absorbable sutures in median sternotomy

Background The most common material used for closure of median sternotomy i ncision is steel suture in open heart surgery, Some complications and disad vantages have been investigated recently. These complications are the break ing down of steel suture, erosion of sternum tabulae especially in osteopor otic patients, erosion of the dermis especially in patients with thin subde rmic layer and cause of infection. Another disadventage of steel suture mat erial is cosmetic problems or disconfort, For these reasons some suture mat erials such as silk, polyfilament polyester, monofilament material, polypro pylene have been used recently. Silk and polyester have a risk of high infe ction, and polypropylene causes granulation tissue according to the number of knots. These facts encouraged the usage of an absorbable suture material . The available polyfilament absorbable sutures in the market a few years a go had a short absorption time, causing sternal infection and dehiscence. P olydiaxone, a monofilament suture material introduced recently has a consid erably longer absorption time. Methods, 153 sternal closures were performed with monofilament absorbable s uture material in a period of seven months at the Kosuyolu Heart and Resear ch Hospital. The mean age of the patients was 32.55, ranging from 8/12 to 7 1 years. The mean body weight is 48.37, ranging between 7 kg and 75 kg, Results. Only two patients had sternal dehiscence, Conclusions. We conclude that monofilament absorbable suture is a safe alte rnative for all kinds of steel suture material for closure of sternotomy.