This interview highlights safer sternotomies and reducing wound complications. At the 2026 American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, thoracic surgeon and CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning spoke with Dr. Klaudiusz Stoklosa, third year cardiac surgeon resident at McGill University, Toronto, Canada, sharing important insights on safer sternotomies.
The discussion included the pathology of deep sternal wound infections. Dr. Stoklosa then explained that preventing deep sternal wound infections requires addressing anatomical ischemia, mechanical instability, and biological patient risk factors. He emphasized techniques such as skeletonizing internal mammary arteries to preserve blood supply, using double-wire configurations with distal plating for rigid fixation, and recognizing high-risk patient groups, including those with type O blood.
At the 106th American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting, surgeons gathered from around the word to discuss essential topics in cardiothoracic surgery. Interviews with leading surgeons addressing these critical issues were captured, and more interviews from the meeting will be available in the coming weeks.
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Deep sternal wound infection prevention has many variables that must be in play to prevent any one infection. Your video points out a few important ones. Our team deep a deep dive into infection prevention which. lead to the formation of an I Hate Infections Team. This effort, generally described in our paper included here, has brought our DSWI rate to Zero per STS criteria for the past roughly 6.5 years!!
https://www.jtcvstechniques.org/article/S2666-2507(23)00118-9/fulltext
Strive for ZERO!
Mike