[Ultraradical surgery of the shoulder and thoracic wall--indications and prognosis]

Super-radical surgery upon shoulder-girdle and chest wall often means mutilation and is therefore a heavy burden for the patient. Nevertheless it can have very rewarding results, if the indications are correct. They include treatment of soft tissue tumours, under certain conditions of metastases within the thoracic wall and very rarely of trauma. Experiences with 9 patients, treated between 1983 and 1985, are reported. Indications for these operations and their prognosis are discussed.