Sternum augmentation with bovine bone substitute in the neonate.

Delayed chest closure may be mandatory after heart surgery to treat a congenital disorder. Sternal closure can be challenging, even when a staged closure procedure has been performed. We present 2 case reports of a sternal augmentation technique in neonates using bovine bone substitute. Staged chest closure was mandatory because of cardiomediastinal disproportion in the first patient, and hemodynamic deterioration followed by an extracorporeal assist device in the second patient. We succeeded in closing the chests in these 2 neonates using this augmentation technique. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first 2 reports of this type of sternum augmentation technique in neonates.