Healing time

The healing time of a sternal fracture varies from case to case. If, as in most cases, it is a smooth fracture of the upper part (manubrium sterni) or the main part (corpus sterni), the fracture heals by itself. The affected person must pay close attention to his posture so that the sternum just grows back together again.

The healing time of the bony structures is then usually 6 to 8 weeks. If the sternum does not grow back together optimally and corrective surgery is required, the healing time will be longer. Often the inserted plate has to be surgically removed after some time, so that the affected person has to undergo additional surgery. As a rule, however, after about half a year there should be no more complaints and the patient should be able to resume normal activities.

Complications of sternal fracture

Normally, a sternal fracture usually heals without any problems. The complications can be divided into concomitant injuries and healing disorders.Healing disorders: A very common complication is pseudoarthrosis. Pseudoarthrosis is a disorder in the reconstruction of the bone structure.

The fracture site appears discontinuous and can even be displaced more or less movably. For this reason, pseudoarthrosis is often called a “false joint”. The site can be completely unstable.

Therefore, early surgery should be performed to correct the problem with screws and plates. The cause of pseudoarthrosis is usually due to insufficient protection of the patient. However, it can also be caused by the fracture itself.

One problem, for example, is soft tissue that still lies in the fracture gap. In addition, vascular injury can also lead to a circulatory disorder. Other causes lie in the patient’s previous illnesses.

A vascular disease of the patient can also lead to a reduced blood supply to the tissue, which can impair the healing of the fracture. There are also bone structure disorders as in osteoporosis (bone loss). Diabetes (blood sugar disease) and diseases of the immune system can also lead to disturbances in healing.

Another problem can also be an infection of the bone itself, which is then called osteomyelitis. More often, however, the wound itself also becomes inflamed due to unclean work on the wound. Accompanying injuries: The trauma of a sternal fracture can also lead to damage to the heart.

This can be an injury to the heart tissue (also nerves, vessels) or it can trigger cardiac arrhythmia. The arrhythmias must then be treated and monitored separately. In addition, they naturally worsen the prognosis.

In addition, the lung can also be injured, which can lead to respiratory disorders and aspiration (when foreign bodies or fluid enter the lung). Injuries to the pulmonary pleura caused by fragments or trauma can also lead to a so-called pneumothorax. In pneumothorax, the negative pressure between the lung membrane and the lungs is released and air from outside can enter through the hole in the lung membrane.

If the air is no longer able to escape, which is called tension pneumothorax, a life-threatening pressure on vessels in the thorax and heart will result. Injuries to the vessels during the trauma or fractions of them can also cause bleeding. Depending on the size of the vessel, severe internal bleeding may occur. In addition, surrounding nerves can also be injured. Another concomitant injury results from concomitant injury to ribs, but also to vertebral bodies, which also worsens the prognosis.