The Effect of the Presence of Barrier during Resternotomy in Congenital Heart Surgery

Reoperation is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in congenital heart surgery. The aim of this study was to assess whether the presence of barrier during resternotomy affected the outcomes of infants and children who underwent congenital heart surgery.

A total of 110 (7.6%) patients who underwent reoperations among 1445 consecutive patients between February 2018 and June 2023 were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups: those with barrier (n = 72) and those without barrier (n = 38). Demographic, intraoperative and postoperative data were retrospectively analyzed.

Among the 110 patients, the age at reoperation was 10.1 ± 1.4 years in the group with barrier and 10.9 ± 2.8 years in the group without barrier. There were no statistically significant differences in the age at surgery, preoperative saturation, interval since preceding surgery (years), and aortic cross clamp time (minutes) between the groups. However, there were significantly higher rates of injuries during dissection (p = 0.001) and adverse events (p = 0.002) during dissection in the non-barrier group. One patient in the group without barrier underwent reoperation but subsequently died.

The usage of any barrier in front of the right ventricle can decrease the incidence of adverse events, morbidity and mortality.