Antibiotic-loaded bone cement combined with vacuum sealing drainage to treat deep sternal wound infection following cardiac surgery: the first case report

BACKGROUND: Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) is a rare but serious complication after median sternotomy, and treatment success depends mainly on surgical experience. Here we first present a case of a patient successfully treated for antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) combined with vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) of DSWI. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report presented a patient who underwent open heart surgery, and suffered postoperatively from a DSWI associated with enterococcus cloacae. Focus debridement combined with ALBC filling and VSD was conducted in stage I. Appropriate antibiotics were started according to sensitivity to be continued for 2 weeks until the inflammatory markers decreased to normal. One month after the surgery, patient’s wound was almost healed and was discharged from hospital with a drainage tube. Two months after the stage I surgery procedure, the major step was removing the previous ALBC, and extensive debridement in stage II. The patient fully recovered without further surgical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this case suggest that ALBC combined with VSD may be a viable and safe option for deep sternal wound reconstruction.