Kamran Harati, Jonas Kolbenschlag, Björn Behr, Ole Goertz, Tobias Hirsch, Nicolai Kapalschinski, Andrej Ring, Marcus Lehnhardt, Adrien Daigeler
Abstract
Surgical treatment of malignant thoracic wall tumors represents a formidable challenge. In particular, locally advanced tumors that have already infiltrated critical anatomic structures are associated with a high surgical morbidity and can result in full-thickness defects of the thoracic wall. Plastic surgery can reduce this surgical morbidity by reconstructing the thoracic wall through various tissue transfer techniques. Sufficient soft-tissue reconstruction of the thoracic wall improves quality of life and mitigates functional impairment after extensive resection. The aim of this article is to illustrate the various plastic surgery treatment options in the multimodal therapy of patients with malignant thoracic wall tumors.
This article is based on a review of the current literature and the evaluation of a patient database.
Several plastic surgical treatment options can be implemented in the curative and palliative therapy of patients with malignant solid tumors of the chest wall. Large soft-tissue defects after tumor resection can be covered by local, pedicled, or free flaps. In cases of large full-thickness defects, flaps can be combined with polypropylene mesh to improve chest wall stability and to maintain pulmonary function. The success of modern medicine has resulted in an increasing number of patients with prolonged survival suffering from locally advanced tumors that can be painful, malodorous, or prone to bleeding. Resection of these tumors followed by thoracic wall reconstruction with viable tissue can substantially enhance the quality of life of these patients.
In curative treatment regimens, chest wall reconstruction enables complete resection of locally advanced tumors and subsequent adjuvant radiotherapy. In palliative disease treatment, plastic surgical techniques of thoracic wall reconstruction provide palliation of tumor-associated morbidity and can therefore improve patients' quality of life.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 05 July 2016.
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#8,262,445
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#3,072
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Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in oncology
#15
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Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 66th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 22,416 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 3.0. This one has done well, scoring higher than 85% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 77 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 77% of its contemporaries.
