Retrosternal fat pad for prevention of suppurative sternitis.

An increased incidence of postoperative sternal infection has been reported after the use of bilateral internal mammary arteries for coronary artery grafting. In this series, a pedicled pericardial fat pad was mobilized to lie in the retrosternal space before the sternum was approximated. This technique was used in 101 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery grafting using bilateral internal mammary arteries. Twenty-four percent of the patients were diabetic. No suppurative sternitis developed in any of these patients.