During the embryonic period, the sternal primordia form the right and left sternal plates, and at about the 9th to 10th week, the two sternal plates fuse with each other in the midline to form the whole sternum. If such fusion is not completed during embryonic development, or only partially fused, a sternal cleft is formed. According to the location and degree of cleft, it can be divided into upper sternal cleft, lower sternal cleft and total sternal cleft. Causes Sternal fracture occurs as a result of an obstacle in the process of mutual healing of sternal cords during the embryonic period. Clinically, it can manifest as total or partial absence of the sternum, hemilarial absence, window-shaped defect, etc. Sternal fracture is more common, and its site can be seen in the upper part of the sternum, the lower part of the sternum or the whole length of the sternum. Symptoms The child often has paradoxical breathing, cyanosis, dyspnea and recurrent respiratory infections. Physical examination reveals soft tissue fissures in the upper, lower or all of the sternal region and palpable vascular pulsations, and in Cantrell syndrome, a central line defect in the upper abdominal wall, a pericardial defect adjacent to the diaphragm and various types of cardiac malformations. Diagnostic criteria 1. Diagnosis is based on the clinical presentation of the child, and the diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of soft tissue fissures in the sternal region on physical examination. 2.Differentiation It should be differentiated from sternal fracture, hemopneumothorax and multiple rib fractures. Treatment Surgical treatment is the only method. For sternal fracture, direct suturing of the sternum is feasible; for larger sternal fracture, reconstruction of the chest wall before Verska is feasible. The main point of surgery for sternal fracture is to reconstruct a new “sternal barrier” without compressing the heart, and direct suturing can be performed in infants less than 1 month old. For other cases, autologous bone grafting and artificial material repair should be performed.