[Surgical management of chest wall tumors]

Twenty-four patients with chest wall tumors underwent resection during the past twenty years. There were 12 female and 12 male patients with ages ranging from 7 months to 78 years (mean 44 years). Five patients had primary malignant neoplasms, 7 had metastases, and 12 had benign tumors. The tumor was located in the soft tissue in 14 patients and in the ribs and the sternum in 10. Ninety-two percent of tumors were diagnosed correctly if they were benign or malignant before resection, however the final diagnosis was made in only 25% of benign tumors and 54% of malignant tumors before surgery. Thirty-one operations were performed in 24 patients and 10 reconstruction with prosthetic materials were done. Concerning malignant neoplasms patients with primary tumors had better prognosis than those with metastases and patients underwent reconstruction had better prognosis than those underwent resection only. We conclude that wide resection with reconstruction is potentially curative treatment.