Table 1.
Complication | Definition | Subtypes |
---|---|---|
Mediastinal dehiscence | Median sternotomy wound breakdown in the absence of clinical or microbiological evidence of infection | |
Mediastinal wound infection | Clinical or microbiological evidence of infected presternal tissue and sternal osteomyelitis, with or without mediastinal sepsis and with or without unstable sternum | Superficial wound infection: infection confined to the subcutaneous tissue |
Deep wound infection – mediastinitis: wound infection associated with sternal osteomyelitis with or without infected retrosternal space |