Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Catastrophic hemorrhage due to aortic injury during resternotomy: what to do?

  • How to Do It
  • Published:
General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aortic injury occurred during resternotomy in a 22-year-old woman who had undergone a Rastelli-type operation. Although extracorporeal circulation using the right femoral artery and vein was commenced immediately, hemostasis through the midline incision was impossible, and her circulation was hardly maintained. Thus, the parasternal approach was attempted, dividing the right first through fourth ribs and the head of the right clavicle. This approach enabled the assistant to give effective compression to the aortic injury site. Dissection of the adhesions around the ascending aorta was safely carried out, and the aortic laceration was closed without the help of circulatory arrest.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dobell ARC, Jain AK. Catastrophic hemorrhage during redo sternotomy. Ann Thorac Surg 1984;37:273–278.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Delius RE, Walters HL 3rd. Re-operative surgery in pediatric patients. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Pediatr Card Surg Annu 2003;6:108–115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Follis FM, Pett SB Jr, Miller KB, Wong RS, Temes RT, Wernly JA. Catastrophic hemorrhage on sternal reentry: still a dreaded complication? Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:2215–2219.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Athanasiou T, Del Stanbridge R, Kumar P, Cherian A. Video assisted resternotomy in high-risk redo operations: the St Mary’s experience. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2002;21:932–934.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Baslaim GM, Kouatli AA, Mamoun IA, Galal MO. Resternotomy for a retrosternal cardiac pseudoaneurysm in a 1.5-year-old child: a case report. J Card Surg 2005;20:497–500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Khonsari S. Surgical approaches to the heart and great vessels. In: Khonsari S, editor. Cardiac surgery: safeguards and pitfalls in operative technique. 2nd edn. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven; 1997. p. 3–16.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyushu Koseinenkin Hospital, 1-8-1 Kishinoura, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 806-8501, Japan

    Yutaka Imoto, Akira Sese, Masato Sakamoto, Yoshie Ochiai, Toshiro Iwai & Takashi Kajiwara

Authors
  1. Yutaka Imoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Akira Sese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masato Sakamoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yoshie Ochiai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Toshiro Iwai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Takashi Kajiwara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yutaka Imoto.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Imoto, Y., Sese, A., Sakamoto, M. et al. Catastrophic hemorrhage due to aortic injury during resternotomy: what to do?. Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 57, 275–277 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11748-008-0359-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11748-008-0359-z

Key words

Search

Navigation