Ribcage procedure after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer involving the chest wall

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) involving the chest wall is usually treated with en bloc rib resection or parietal pleurectomy; however, the former causes chest wall deformity and the latter is associated with local recurrence. To prevent both these sequalae, we performed the "ribcage" procedure for tumors involving the chest wall after induction chemoradiotherapy.

This was a single center retrospective study conducted from 2012 to 2018. The "ribcage" procedure is designed to preserve the ribs of patients with lung tumors involving chest wall and involves peeling the intercostal muscles and periosteum from the ribs, resulting in a birdcage-like appearance. Seventeen patients with NSCLC clearly involving the chest wall, but not destroying the ribs, were treated with induction chemoradiotherapy, followed by the ribcage procedure. A negative margin at the ribs was confirmed by intraoperative frozen sections in 16 of these patients, who then underwent the ribcage procedure.

Complete resection was achieved in all 16 patients, none of whom experienced major postoperative complications. After a median follow-up period of 37 months, there was no evidence of local recurrence in any of the patients.

Our findings suggest that the ribcage procedure is the preferable surgical option as it can prevent chest wall deformities as well as local recurrence.