Lower Partial Mini-Sternotomy for Congenital Cardiac Surgery

With the continuous decrease in morbidity and mortality associated with cardiac surgery, there has been a trend toward the development of operative techniques that are aimed toward improving other measures such as cosmetic outcomes. We have previously reported on such efforts, where a lower partial mini sternotomy is utilized to limit the skin incision and extent of median sternotomy. In this article we detail the operative technique for lower partial mini-sternotomy for the repair of congenital cardiac defects.