OBJECTIVE: Wound infections after cardiac surgery carry high morbidity and mortality. A plethora of management strategies have been used to treat such infections. We assessed the impact of vacuum-assisted closure on the management of sternal wound infections in terms of wound healing, duration of vacuum-assisted closure, and cost of treatment. METHODS: Between November 1998 and June 2001, a total of 27 mediastinal infections were managed with vacuum-assisted closure. Group A (n = 14) had vacuum-assisted closure as the final treatment modality, whereas in group B (n = 13) vacuum-assisted closure was followed by either a myocutaneous flap (n = 8) or primary (n = 5) wound closure. The choice of additional treatment modality was based on wound size. RESULTS: In group A, 4 patients died and a satisfactorily healed scar was achieved in 64% of cases. Median durations of vacuum-assisted closure and hospital stay in group A were 13.5 days (interquartile range 8.8-32.2 days) and 20 days (interquartile range 16.7-25.2 days), respectively. Mortality was 7.7% in group B, with a treatment failure rate of 15%. Median duration of vacuum-assisted closure in group B was 8 days (interquartile range 5.5-18 days), and median hospital stay was 29 days (interquartile range 25.8-38.2 days). During the year before institution of vacuum-assisted closure, poststernotomy infection (n = 13) was managed with rewiring and closed irrigation system. Treatment during this year failed in 30.7% of cases (n = 4/13), and mortality was also 30.7%. The total cost (hospitalization and treatment) per patient for vacuum-assisted closure was 16,400 dollars, compared with 20,000 dollars for the closed irrigation system treatment. CONCLUSION: Vacuum-assisted closure, used alone or before other surgical treatment strategies, is an acceptable treatment modality for infections in cardiac surgery with reasonable morbidity, mortality, and cost.