[Muscular flaps and reconstructive surgery of empyema: about 12 cases]

The chronic empyema is a dreadfull outcome of pulmonary resection. Its management is difficult: a thoracostomy or a thoracoplasty by resection of rib segments are rarely efficient. A large debridement associated with a muscular flap is helpfull in the treatment of these cavities. These flaps allow the filling of these pleural spaces and the treatment of the bronchopleural fistulae which are constant and responsible of the perenniality of such infection.

From June 1997 to December 2006, 12 patients, aged from 25 to 45 years old, were treated for chronic empyema following total pulmonary resection by using muscular flaps. The causes were: post-tuberculosis pulmonary deterioration in 8 cases, bronchic cancer in 3 cases, post-traumatic tracheobronchic breaking in 1 case. An open window thoracostomy was performed for all the patients and with a follow-up of 2 years, there was no healing of this infection. In our procedure, the patients underwent in the same time a large thoracoplasty that involved 3 to 5 rib segments (10 cm in length) to reduce the pleural space and a myoplasty. The muscular flaps used were pedicled in 8 cases: a latissimus dorsi in 6 cases, a latissimus dorsi with an anterior serratus in 2 case, and were free in 4 cases: a latissimus dorsi in 3 cases, a latissimus dorsi with an anterior serratus in 1 case. These flaps were sufficient to fill the cavities and were applied and stitched around the fistulae.

There was no complication during or after the operations with a mean follow-up of 3 years. These chronic empyema were completely healed in all cases without recurrence of the suppuration or the bronchopleural fistulae.

The one-stage thoracomyoplasty including the resection of rib segments and local or regional muscular flaps is a very efficient treatment of the chronic pleural empyemas. It is very important, for an easy treatment of such cavities, to teach the thoracic surgeons the great interest of preserving the local muscular flap during the initial thoracotomy.