Surgical management of a giant abdominal wall desmoid tumour

Desmoid tumours are clonal fibroblastic proliferations in soft tissues, characterised by infiltrative growth and local recurrence, but not metastasis. Various treatment strategies for desmoid tumours exist, varying from observation, medical and systemic therapy to radiotherapy and surgery. A 25-year-old woman with a background of familial adenomatous polyposis was referred with an enlarging abdominal desmoid tumour measuring 40×40×40 cm despite repeated radiofrequency ablation, surgical debulking and hormone therapy. The patient had a two-stage operation. The first stage involved excision of the desmoid tumour with full-thickness abdominal wall. The abdominal wall was not closed, and a topical negative pressure seal was applied. After 2 days, she underwent the second stage: reconstruction of the abdominal wall defect with a large porcine mesh which was covered with anterolateral thigh flaps. Postoperative complications included ileus and a fall which required further surgery. The patient was discharged 1 month after the first operation. Abdominal MRI scans were performed at 3 and 7 months postdischarge and showed no recurrence of diseaseBackground.