Metal Plates: Sternum

April 24, 2022 - Weeks after my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022, I started to wonder why my upper chest felt strange inside when I touched it. Well, last Friday (April 22, 2022), my cardiac rehabilitation nurse told me that my cardiothoracic surgeon who performed my seven-hour-long surgery affixed two metal plates (instead of the usual metal wires) to my sternum (breastbone) to hold it together and strengthen it. During my open-heart surgery, my sternum needed to be purposely broken (sawed?) in half for my surgeon to be able to access my heart.

Below is an example of a sternum plate. I do NOT know if that's exactly what I now have within my chest. Anyway, I have two of them: one in the back of my sternum and one in the front.

UPDATE: April 29, 2022 - After some research, it seems that I am somewhat incorrect regarding the two metal plates that were attached to my sternum (breastbone) during my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022. The plates are affixed to the sternum using metal screws, so the plates are only in the front of my sternum, not in the back, as I previously thought. That means I have two plates in the front of my sternum. I can feel one in my upper sternum. I do not know if the other one is in my middle sternum or in my lower sternum. These plates come in various configurations, so I do not know what type of plates I have. The photo below is just that of a random sternal plate that I found online.

My cardiothoracic surgeon broke/sawed through my sternum to be able to access my heart. While metal wires are typically used to hold the sternum together, special circumstances require metal plates to strengthen the sternum.