Experience of sternal secondary closure by means of a titanium fixation system after transverse thoracosternotomy.

Sternal dehiscence is a common complication after transverse thoracosternotomy in patients undergoing bilateral sequential lung transplantation (BSLT). These patients can be treated with conservative therapy, but severe dehiscence requires surgical reapproximation and secondary closure of the sternum. Seventy-one cases of patients who underwent BSLT between January 2007 and May 2009 were reviewed retrospectively.