[Urgent partial sternotomy for the treatment of iatrogenic vascular injury to the thoracic outlet: a report of two cases].

Two patients underwent surgery for iatrogenic vascular injuries at the thoracic outlet. Injuries occurred during mediastinoscopy in one patient (male, aged 60 years) and removal of a Portovac catheter in the other (female, aged 49 years). We performed partial sternotomy in both cases to expose the proximal of a. carotis communis and vena cava superior, respectively. After distal and proximal control of the vessels, the injured vessel was primarily sutured in the first patient, and the tip of the catheter was removed through a venotomy incision in the latter. No postoperative complications occurred in both patients. Partial sternotomy incision provides an appropriate and quick access to the injured vessels and surrounding structures at the thoracic outlet.