Anesthetic management in a case of congenital sternal cleft diagnosed incidentally on the operating table

Congenital absence of sternum, also known as sternal cleft, is a rare anomaly. It is due to impaired organogenesis leading to nonfusion of sternal bars. It may be of two types- complete or incomplete. It may be associated with other congenital malformations viz., cardiac, anorectal etc., or may be a part of Cantrell's pentalogy. Besides cosmetic concerns, mediastinal structures are at increased risk to damage in case of trauma to the anterior chest wall. Due to restricted mediastinal space, there may be restrictive pulmonary dysfunctions and unstable hemodynamics. It usually presents in the neonatal period or early infancy, rarely in adult age. The defect should be surgically closed as early as possible. If cardiac arrest occurs due to any reason, the only option is open cardiac massage. We report a case of complete congenital sternal cleft accidentally diagnosed on the operation table, while preparing the patient for diagnostic laparotomy. The patient was retrospectively assessed for the presence of other congenital malformations.