Congenital Superior Sternal Cleft Isolated in a Newborn: Report of a Rare Case and a Literature Review

BACKGROUND Sternal cleft is a greatly rare congenital thoracic deformity, arising from a failure of the sternal bars fusion process that should be completed in the fetal period, the incidence of which is less than 0.15%. CASE REPORT Herein, we present a case report of a newborn girl having a superior congenital sternal cleft. After the baby was born, scar-like tissue was found in the middle of the chest and extended to the root of the umbilical cord. Based on the imaging data, this newborn was diagnosed with sternal cleft belonging to the superior sternal cleft and not associated with other congenital deformities. CONCLUSIONS As a rare congenital thoracic deformity, postpartum diagnosis of the sternal cleft mainly is currently based on medical imaging, including thoracic computed tomography (CT), three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction CT, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Sternum cleft not only affects the aesthetic appearance but also leads to the destruction of the bone structure of the thorax, resulting in opposing thoracic movements. Therefore, early diagnosis and early treatment play significant roles in the treatment of this congenital sternal deformity. Regardless of whether there are clinical symptoms of sternal cleft, primary repair surgery must be done as soon as possible and during the neonatal period is best, in which simple surgical techniques achieve remarkable effects.