Delayed Sternal Closure in Infant Heart Surgery—The Importance of Where and When: An Analysis of the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database

BackgroundDelayed sternal closure (DSC) is commonly used to optimize hemodynamic stability after neonatal and infant heart surgery. We hypothesized that duration of sternum left open (SLO) was associated with rate of infection complications, and that location of sternal closure may mitigate infection risk.MethodsInfants (age ≤365 days) undergoing index operations with cardiopulmonary bypass and DSC at STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database...