{"id":660,"date":"2008-12-16T09:51:42","date_gmt":"2008-12-16T14:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2008\/12\/16\/glue-incision-staples-stapled-incisions\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T12:17:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T17:17:14","slug":"glue-incision-staples-stapled-incisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2008\/12\/16\/glue-incision-staples-stapled-incisions\/","title":{"rendered":"“Will I Be Glued Or Stapled After Heart Valve Surgery?” Asks Jill"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just received a great email from Jill. She writes, “Hi Adam – After several years of waiting and waiting, I’m finally going in for valve replacement due to severe regurgitation. Quick Question: Will I be glued or stapled after the sternum is wired<\/a>? I’ve heard it can go either way. Any thoughts?”<\/p>\n

Jill’s question just brought back a very interesting memory for me…\u00a0 I was in the intensive care unit after my aortic valve replacement surgery. The obstructive vent tube had just been removed from my throat. I was woozy (from the anesthesia) but conscious. My eyes sluggishly opened for the first time in six hours. I remember seeing my dad and my wife. Then, I looked down at my chest and thought, “Huh? Is something wrong? I don’t see any stitches on my scar.”<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, I learned that my surgeon used a special type of glue to seal the incision after my median sternotomy<\/a>. As you can see below, there are no stitches or staples on my main, 8-inch incision.<\/p>\n

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\"Glued<\/div>\n
My Glued Incision – Shortly After Surgery<\/div>\n

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However, you should know, this is not always the case. Many surgeons still use staples.<\/p>\n

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In fact, I just received an email from Emmanuel Ibanez. Emmanuel just had valve surgery in the United Arab Emirates. As shown, Emmanuel’s surgeon chose to use the staple method.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/div>\n
A Stapled Incision<\/div>\n

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Whether your incision is stapled or glued, I continue to recommend the use of Mederma<\/a>. Myself and many of my readers have had positive results from this skin care gel.<\/p>\n

Finally, you should also know that most patients have additional scars from the smaller chest tubes used during \/ after surgery. Most of the time, those smaller incisions are stitched. I hope that helps further explain the different approaches to closing surgical incisions – glue, staples, stitches\u00a0– for open heart surgery.<\/p>\n

It should also be noted that many of the newer transcatheter valve therapies – including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)<\/a> – do not require an incision to the patient\u2019s chest or ribs as the procedure is typically performed using minimally-invasive techniques through an artery.\u00a0 That said, patients undergoing TAVR will not be stitched or glued.<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/p>\n