Reconstruction of the chest wall with e-PTFE following major resection.
Nine patients underwent major chest wall resection at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia, PA) over a 19-month period. Chest wall reconstruction was performed with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) soft tissue patch (Gore-Tex) and vascularized flaps in all patients. The size of the skeletal defects ranged in area from 60 to 400 cm2. The primary indications for resection included chest wall sarcoma and radiation ulcer. Aggressive chest wall resection may be a patient's only opportunity for cure and an improved quality of life. In this series, chest wall resection was able to be performed with a low morbidity and no mortality. This study also demonstrates many of the advantages of e-PTFE as a chest wall substitute compared with other previously described prosthetic materials. The use of a Gore-Tex patch along with described flaps for soft tissue coverage provides good functional and aesthetic results.