Chest wall reconstruction with a latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap via the pleural cavity

Abstract

This report presents the case of a 79-year old woman who developed radionecrosis after irradiation following a radical mastectomy at the age of 50 and complicated lung adenocarcinoma in the left upper lobe. Chest wall resection and reconstruction were performed simultaneously with left upper lobectomy, and a latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap was used for reconstruction via the left pleural cavity after lobectomy. The flap was well adapted to the defect of the chest wall. This clinical course indicates that a transpleural musculocutaneous flap can be a reconstructive procedure for such patients showing chest wall radionecrosis complicated with an intrathoracic disease. © 2011 The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.