[Surgical therapy of malignant thoracic wall tumors]

Surgical treatment of primary and secondary malignant chest wall tumors present various difficulties depending on their localisation in the anterior, lateral and posterior thoracic wall. The reconstruction and the flap-plastics have to fulfill the functional and cosmetic demands. We report on 35 patients, 22 female and 13 male, ranging in ages from 19-69 (mean 44.59) years. There were 17 primary and 18 secondary tumors. The operation included excision of the thoracic shield, partial or total breast-bone and clavicle resection. Materials used for reconstruction were PTFE-patches, lyophilized dura and ribs. Soft tissue reconstruction was performed by sliding-flap plastics. The one-year survival rate was 90.6%.