A Retrospective Study to Evaluate Use of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Patients Undergoing Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting.

Bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting may be associated with a higher risk of postoperative deep sternal wound infection than monolateral internal thoracic artery grafting due to a limited blood supply to the thoracic chest wall. Because preliminary studies suggest negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) may reduce the risk of infection, a retrospective chart review of 129 patients who underwent BITA between February 2003 and October 2014 was conducted. Of those, 21 patients received NPWT for 5 days immediately following surgery and the incisions of 108 patients were covered with a conventional gauze dressing.