Coverage of chest wall defect with pectoralis-breast myocutaneous flap: a report of two cases

Reconstruction of a chest wall defect remains a challenging problem, especially where such defects are radiation related. Two cases of modified breast flaps associated with pectoralis major muscle were performed to cover a huge mediastinal defect, with heart lung exposure and a post-mastectomy radiation-related chest wall defect with partial rib resection. Both modified breast flaps healed uneventfully. No respiratory distress was encountered post-operatively. The breast flap associated with pectoralis major muscle ensured flap reliability and minimized flap complication. It is easy to raise and its size is large enough to cover of large chest wall defect which is radiation related, or those internal mammary arteries and thoracodorsal arteries compromised in previous surgery where the transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap and latissimus dorsi flap become unreliable. In such cases a contralateral modified breast flap associated with pectoralis major muscle is the better choice.