Prosthetic Replacement of Chest-Wall Defects

The increasingly frequent occurrence of a chest-wall defect secondary to trauma or to surgery for various tumors of this area of the body has focused attention on the problem of repairing the resultant chest-wall defect. Since the thoracic cage is solid yet in constant motion, any acceptable method of repair should offer the properties of mobility as well as stability. We and others * have utilized locally available tissue, such as the latissimus dorsi or pectoralis major muscle or the opposite breast, as a means to repair a thoracicwall defect. In certain instances this practice has been satisfactory, and, whenever possible, locally available tissue should be utilized if it can offer the desired stability. Unfortunately, such local tissue often is not practical, either because of its instability or because the neurovascular supply of the tissue is removed incident to its mobilization. Occasionally, conditions prevailing at surgery make it undesirable to prolong