Everything you need in one place, from useful tips, product instructions and videos, to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Protect your wound and sternum for 8 weeks, and more as needed
After your heart procedure, QualiBra Advanced, a special chest binder, can be placed around your chest to protect your incision wound and sternum, to help your recovery.
QualiBra Advanced should fit snugly, yet comfortably on your body. It can be loosened or tightened to your comfort level. The blue sternum band on the QualiBra Advanced should sit high at the front of your chest. Adjust as needed. If you feel it’s irritating under your arms, pads can be provided for extra comfort. Note the 2 pocket-handles on each side of your sternum. Grasp them both with your fingers underneath and bring the pockets together with your hands to get more support all around your chest. This is very useful when you cough, sneeze or strain. Use them also when you do breathing exercises or feel you need more support.
Do you need another QualiBra Advanced?
Bring the pocket-handles together.
A cough can produce about 20 kg of force on the sternum and incision.
Ready to go home? use the QualiPad Seatbelt Protection Pad to protect your chest from the car seatbelt.
It is important to continue walking and being active at home to improve strength, muscle tone, circulation, breathing, and sense of well-being.
Notify your doctor if symptoms last longer than 10–15 minutes or recur with exercise.
How to use QualiBra Advanced Breast and Sternum support
Breathing & Sternotomy after open heart surgery
QualiBreath explainer video
AxillaPads - Accessory to QualiBreath
Do you need AxillaPads?
Backed by published evidence and used in hospitals worldwide, QualiBreath is designed to improve comfort, support healing, and reduce complications.
Real experiences from recent recoveries using QualiBreath.
I am current sat in a hospital in the UK wearing one of your QualiBreath bands, having had a recent cardiac procedure, the benefit of your product is fantastic. The surgical team used bands rather than wire to bring the sternum together, your band has taken away 90% of the ‘clicking’ that can be experienced with this form of closure.
I wish I had known about QualiBreath sooner so I could have worn it immediately after the surgery.
It’s a massive help after my open heart surgery. Can only cough properly when I have this on!
We purchased this product for my husband - he underwent open heart surgery at the end of August. Unfortunately, he had residual sternal pain postoperatively and after imaging, it was seen that he had some mild separation of his sternum in some areas. He is high risk for repeat surgery due to airway issues - so we were looking for non surgical options. We wanted to trial a brace to help stabilize his sternum and possibly bring it together for better healing. Your website was great - really seemed to fit the bill of what we needed. The first few days of wearing this brace he felt it definitely brought his sternum together and stabilized things. When he would take it off - he could tell things were different. Now that he has been wearing it almost a week - his pain has greatly improved in that area and he prefers keeping it on since the discomfort is gone when he wears it. The other thing to note is that he is a muscular 46 year old guy - he had surgery for an aortic aneurysm repair, not for heart disease. So - he is used to being active. He would not wear something like this if he didn’t get relief or comfort from it. We chuckle that it is his man-bra…although laughing makes his chest hurt, he now instinctively squeezes his brace handles and that helps. :) We are grateful to have this brace - it gives us hope that his sternum will have a chance to heal smoothly without further intervention.
