1990 Volume 51 Issue 7 Pages 1443-1447
We report two cases of recurred breast cancer in the thoracic wall, in which the whole layer of the thoracic wall was excised and then reconstructed by sandwiching a resin-board with Marlex mesh.
Case 1 was a 45-year-old woman who had a recurrence on the thoracic wall 3 years after radical operation for breast cancer. The whole thoracic wall including the sternum and right ribs from the 1st through 4th as well as skin was excised, and ossiferous thorax was reconstructed with Marlex sandwich in which latissimus dorsi flap procedure was applied. Case 2 was a 68-year-old woman who had a recurred lesion in the skin over the right thoracic wall 2 years and 9 months after radical mastectomy. Excision of the whole layer of the thoracic wall including right ribs from 1st through 3rd, right clavicle, and a part of sternum, and a wide range of regional lymphnode excision of right supraclavicular fossa were carried out. Reconstruction of the thoracic wall was also performed in the same manner.
Marlex sandwich which was prepared by actual measurement was boiled and kept in an autoclave under sterile condition. Postoperative courses of the 2 patients were uneventful. From the viewpoint of emotional and cosmetic aspects of breast cancer patients, this procedure should be tried if a patient is a possible candidate.
