{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T02:05:04Z","timestamp":1783735504334,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"12","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,2]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>An open sternal wound is a dreaded complication after open heart surgery for neonatal congenital cardiac anomalies. Vascularised muscle flap reconstruction of sternal wound defects, to prevent life-threatening mediastinal infections, is the standard of care in adults and children. However, there is paucity of published literature regarding the safety of this technique in neonates. We describe a successful operative technique for complex reconstruction of an open heart sternal defect on a neonatal male patient. On 6\u2009months postoperative follow-up, we identified an issue with sternal instability. Patient underwent a subsequent operation for reinforcement of the sternal wound repair with Vicryl mesh. The authors report safety of using three separate vascularised muscle flaps in a single neonatal operation. Long-term follow-up of the sternal wound reconstruction is warranted to determine need for secondary procedures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2020-237573","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,22]],"date-time":"2020-12-22T18:18:21Z","timestamp":1608661101000},"page":"e237573","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Safety of neonatal sternal wound reconstruction after open heart surgery"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Venus","family":"Barlas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9471-6151","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Barkat","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of New Mexico 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