Sternal closure: wiring or not wiring?

Deep sternal wound infection, is one of the most dangerous and life-threatening complication in cardiac surgery. It is one of the most expensive complications with a 3-fold increase in overall costs (1). Despite advances in prevention and treatment strategies, incidence remains high ranging between 0.25% and 5% (2,3) Wound infections may result from contamination during surgery, both from the patient and the surgeon (4).