PROSTHETIC RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CHEST-WALL

Since January 1987, in a consecutive series of 56 resections of the ch est-wall for cancer, the wall defect was repaired by a prosthetic impl ant on 14 occasions (10 silastic sheeting, 4 goretex soft tissue patch ). Indications for thoracic wall resection were: T3 primary lung cance rs (7 cases), local recurrences after breast cancer surgery (5 cases), primary and metastatic neoplasms arising in the chest-wall (2 cases). No rejection was reported nor episodes of flail chest or respiratory disorders. No major complications occurred in patients who underwent p ostoperative radiotherapy; only 1 case of persistent seroma was observ ed. Follow-up ranges from 3 to 37 months. In no case was a local recur rence of tumor observed. Cosmetic results were considered from accepta ble to good in all patients. In every case a total control of pain sym ptoms was achieved. There were 6 deaths at a mean interval of 22 month s from operation (4 lung cancers, 1 breast cancer, 1 osteosarcoma), al l due to metastatic spread of the disease.