Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  1999 Oct;32(10):966-969.

Complete Sternal Cleft

• Shin JK
• Jung JP
• Yoo DG
• Park SJ
• Chung CY
• Lee GH

Abstract

Congenital defects of the sternum are rare development anomalies. They result form the failure of the lateral sternal bars to fuse. This malformation may be associated with other ventral midline fusion defects and ectopia cordis. A complete sternal cleft is the rarest form and less than 10 cases have been reported in the medical literature. Here were report a 3-day-old boy with complete sternal cleft without other malformations, who underwent primary surgical repair. Surgical correction of complete sternal cleft should be performed in neonatal period whether the infant if symptomatic or not because it is usually simple, able to achieve good result and primary repair is usually feasible at this period.

Keyword

Sternum; Cleft

MeSH Terms

Congenital Abnormalities
Ectopia Cordis
Humans
Infant
Male
Sternum