Case report of a complex chest wall reconstruction with a cadaveric achilles tendon

Abstract

Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: Chest wall reconstruction is sometimes needed after resection of a thoracic malignancy. Various materials and techniques have been utilized to restore stability and integrity to the chest wall. We report what we believe is the first use of a cadaveric Achilles tendon to restore stability and function to the chest wall of a young woman who underwent chest wall resection and right upper lobectomy for a superior sulcus tumor. Case Report: A 46-year-old woman underwent resection of her first through fourth right ribs in addition to her right upper lobe for a squamous cell superior sulcus tumor. Because it was felt her right scapula provided sufficient cov-erage of her resultant chest wall defect, her chest wall was not reconstructed post-operatively. The patient ex-perienced 2 episodes of scapular prolapse into her thoracic cavity several months after her resection. After the second episode, her right chest wall was successfully reconstructed with a cadaveric Achilles tendon to pre-vent further episodes of prolapse. Conclusions: We believe this is the first description of chest wall reconstruction with a cadaveric Achilles tendon. The use of a cadaveric Achilles tendon should be considered for reconstruction of the chest wall after complex resection due to its strength characteristics, resistance to subsequent infection, and availability.