A sternotomy, most commonly performed as a median sternotomy, is a surgical procedure in which a vertical incision is made along the sternum and the bone itself is divided with a sternal saw, opening the chest to give surgeons access to the heart and lungs. It is the standard approach for operations such as heart transplantation, lung transplantation, corrective surgery for congenital heart defects, and coronary artery bypass surgery.
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Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_sternotomy, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_sternotomy, lead section
Median sternotomy is a type of surgical procedure in which a vertical inline incision is made along the sternum, after which the sternum itself is divided using a sternal saw.
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