Complete congenital sternal cleft in an adult: repair by autogenous tissues.

Abstract

We are reporting here a rare case of congenital complete sternal cleft in an adult of 25 years of age, with absent anterior pericardium and "diastasis recti." Successful surgical repair was achieved along with the preservation of the already existing anatomic and mechanical sanctity of thoracic cage, sternal reconstruction, and protection of the underlying heart and great vessels with a good cosmetic result using autogenous tissue i.e., iliac bone and "V-Y" myoplasty of pectoralis major muscles with their functional preservation and correction of associated anomalies.