Minimally Invasive Midaxillary Muscle Sparing Thoracotomy for Atrial Septal Defect Closure in Prepubescent Patients

The midaxillary approach is a safe alternative to lateral thoracotomies frequently used in cardiac surgery for atrial septal defect closure. It helps to improve the cosmetic result in the prepubescent patient group. We believe that its application should not be expanded to include repair of more complex lesions or to patients below the age of 3 to 4 years. For these, variations of cosmetically favorable partial sternotomy techniques should be applied.