Experience with vacuum-assisted wound closure of mediastinitis following graft replacement of the ascending aorta: success of treatment by preservative therapy only.

A 76-year-old woman underwent ascending aorta replacement due to acute type A aortic dissection. She suffered from a deglutition disorder, had a gastric fistula and received enteral nutrition after the operation. Two months later, a large amount of pus was discharged from the sternotomy wound. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was detected from the pus culture. She was successfully treated by two applications of sufficient debridement and vacuum-assisted closure therapy. Her nutritional status was normal during the period of the tubal feeding. At the 1-year follow-up, there was no sign of recurrence.