Paediatrics

 Congenital absence of the sternum or complete sternal cleft, is a rare chest wall malformation resulting from failed midline fusion duing embryonic development. This defect can cause significant morbidity.

Two such cases were managed sucessfully at MIMS Calicut. The first was a 1 month old female born with absence of sternum. The second was a new born baby with absent sternum referred from another hospital.Both babies underwent sternal cleft repair and had a smooth recovery.