Affiliation:
1. Department of Cardiac Surgery, Harefield Hospital, Harefield Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Abstract
Closure of the pericardium is important to protect bypass grafts, the great vessels, and the heart from injury due to sternal dehiscence. Furthermore, it is reported to reduce the formation of pericardial adhesions and thus facilitate entry into the chest at resternotomy. We here describe a simple, reproducible, and effective technique for tension-free approximation of the upper pericardium by applying small hemostatic clips to the preserved thymic fascia overlying the pericardium.
Subject
Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine,General Medicine,Surgery,Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine