posted on 2018-07-11, 02:54authored byMonna Hessen Banna de Oliveira, Bianca Damasceno Gonçalves, Adenauer Marinho de Oliveira Góes Junior
Abstract The median thoracotomy is an access incision made longitudinally through the sternum and variants can be subdivided into total vertical and partial upper or partial lower vertical incisions. In surgical practice, using a partial median sternotomy is an alternative option that causes less surgical aggression. The brachiocephalic artery is one of the thoracic vessels most often affected in traumas and it can be accessed via a median sternotomy. This report describes use of an upper partial sternotomy to provide access in a case of traumatic iatrogenic injury of the brachiocephalic trunk.