The midsternal stripe and its relationship to postoperative sternal dehiscence.

The postoperative chest radiographs of 173 patients who underwent median sternternal line. A total of 52 (30%) showed a thin lucent line one or more days after the operation. Clinical dehiscence developed in 4 patients, of whom 2 had a midsternal stripe and 2 did not. The authors feel that the presence of a sternal stripe is of little value in the radiographic diagnosis of sternal dehiscence.