If you don't remember your password, you can reset it by entering your email address and clicking the Reset Password button. You will then receive an email that contains a secure link for resetting your password
If the address matches a valid account an email will be sent to __email__ with instructions for resetting your password
Corresponding author: Dr Nikola Dobrilovic, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Rhode Island Hospital, Medical Office Center, Ste 360, 2 Dudley St, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, USA. Tel.: +1-401-444-2732.
The patient is a 78-year-old man who underwent aortic valve replacement and coronary
artery bypass grafting through a standard median sternotomy. Several weeks postoperatively
he experienced minor sternal instability identified after partial wound opening. Treatment
with frequent wet-to-dry dressing changes yielded a clean wound with formation of
healthy granulation tissue. After a week of such treatment, a chest roentgenogram
demonstrated pneumopericardium (Fig. 1).
Figure 1Chest roentgenogram demonstrating pneumopericardium (arrows) in a patient with a partially open unstable sternum.
