Sternal wires - a little warning

[Paleowoman]

At my cardiologist appointment today I mentioned the soreness I get along the right side of my sternum. He could feel the wires there and said it was that causing soreness. I rubbed the area and he immediately exclaimed “DON’T RUB !” as doing that can cause the wires to come through the skin and then the said wires have to be removed by surgery. I know a few on here have had their wires removed due to issues with them so I thought to write this as a warning to others NOT TO RUB the area along the sternum where the wires are !

 

[honeybunny]

Thank you, Anne. I had some knotted wires removed but can still feel others and yes, I have no doubt that if I pressed/rubbed them they would break through the skin....they are that near the surface. And yes, when my knots were removed a few months ago I was told that I would need to undergo surgery to remove any others. I believe it would be day surgery, but since it cost $900 for the quickie snip/pull/stitch procedure I had, I'd rather pass on anything more invasive.

 

[Warrick]

My wires seemed to work themselves on their own to the surface of my scar so I could feel them, I found that it was just normal activity that aggravated them ,
maybe working as I'm a mechanic and it's pretty constant upper body movement.

They were I wouldn't say sore to touch but I could feel half of the 8, more so I had pain deep in the pectoral muscles that would radiate outwards that was getting progressivly worse over the last 4-5 months.
My father has had his sternal wires in for 30+ years now and they have never bothered him.
I was talking to a friend the other day who had a bypass 3 years ago and he reckons his wires are moving about so is considering asking about removal since mine went well.
I'm still sore a bit but pleased they are out and looking forward to being pain free long term.

 

[Paleowoman]

They were I wouldn't say sore to touch but I could feel half of the 8, more so I had pain deep in the pectoral muscles that would radiate outwards that was getting progressivly worse over the last 4-5 months..

Hi Warrick - I have pain in the muscles too on the right side. When I inhale they are nearly always sore near the sternum - originally I ws told that was costochondritis but now it would appear to be wire related. I have to refrain from rubbing the area which I think I might do when it's sore !

 

[almost_hectic]

i would think pain from wires would be a sharp pain if you're getting poked or scratched by tissue moving across the wire. My pain is on on the right side but its always a dull pain and its usually remedied by doing some stretching that usually results in a faint pop from my sternum area. My DO called it a minor subluxation and nothing to worry about. I explained the same pain to my surgeon. He felt around the area and said everything seemed fine but that it would be difficult to pinpoint one reason for the pain. Thats its a combination of scar tissue and other musculoskeletal factors (like the subluxation) that will likely improve over time, but might not. Said if I really had trouble to let him know. Makes sense since where your ribs join the sternum in front is actually a joint, albeit very little movement happens there as it is mostly cartilage but after the ribs being spread there can be some residual damage and scar tissue that inhibits movement where the ribs meet the sternum.

 

[Amy]

Hi Anne,

I was just wondering if the sternum pain you were having 5 years ago when you wrote this post is now better than it was? Was it not the sternum wires after all? Just cartilage healing in the joints or something?...

take care. : )

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Amy,

I still get pain along my sternum, it's not got better. I've since had an MRI which showed an effusion on my left sternoclavicular joint which would have been caused by the retraction during surgery. But I still get pain where the wires are - I avoid touching that area - plus pain along the sternum, especially if I take a deep breath in, so the pain is due to cartilage where the ribs join the sternum too. Recently I have been getting a lot of sensitivity in the skin alongside the scar, the skin is very thin there, and a bit red. I'm planning to speak to my GP about it next week.

How are you ?

Hi Anne,

I was just wondering if the sternum pain you were having 5 years ago when you wrote this post is now better than it was? Was it not the sternum wires after all? Just cartilage healing in the joints or something?...

take care. : )