St.-Theresien Hospital

1 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Surgical Fixation of Sternal Fractures: Preoperative Planning and a Safe Surgical Technique Using Locked Titanium Plates and Depth Limited Drilling

Stefan Schulz-Drost¹, Pascal Oppel¹, Sina Grupp¹, Sonja Schmitt¹, Roman Th. Carbon², Andreas Mauerer³, Friedrich F. Hennig¹, Thomas Buder⁴

¹Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, ²Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, ³Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, St.-Theresien Hospital, ⁴Institute of Anatomy I, University Erlangen-Nuremberg

Here we present a method to stabilize sternal fractures by using locked titanium plates in a low profile design. Performing subperiosteal dissection along the sternum while reducing the fracture, using depth limited drilling, and fixing the plates provides a safe surgical way.