Breastbone (?) pain after cabg

  Approximagely 1 year after cabg and I have periods of significant pain apparently associated with the breastbone not knitting back together. I feel what appears to be grinding in the chest with upper body torsion, which I try to avoid. Pain getting in an out of car, turning over in bed at night, etc. My family practice physician mentioned having the breastbone rebroken. Are there other possible causes for the grinding sensation, and pain, and what are some treatment alternatives? Any suggested reading material that might help me understand what is going on?
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Dear Brown,
Thank you for your question.  The breastbone can take a long time after surgery to "knit back together".  You doctor should check to make sure there is not an infection present that may be contributing to the poor healing and could also check a X-Ray to see if the wires are in place.  If these are both negative then there are not a lot of options besides pain medication.  Usually these sensation will eventually get better.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.  Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.  The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.

[Tetrascrol]

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