[Using the greater omentum for the treatment of tissue damage after radiotherapy]

Four patients presented with tissue damage after having surgery and radiotherapy for a malignancy. Two patients presented with ischaemic tissue damage many years after treatment--a woman aged 71 presented 40 years after and a man aged 56 presented 12 years after treatment. A 44-year-old-woman presented with chronic seroma after surgical resection, which had been aggravated by radiotherapy. In a man aged 48, a chronic infection in irradiated tissue did not respond to antibiotics. These complications proved to be resistant to conservative treatment and surgery was indicated. All patients underwent resection of the damaged irradiated tissues and transposition of the greater omentum, which proved to be effective. The pedicled omentoplasty is able to transpose well-vascularized tissue with angiogenetic and immunological properties to tissues with no spontaneous healing capacity.