Chest wall reconstruction is difficult because of the physiological and anatomical functions of thoracic cavity where the thoracic cavity must be stabilized in order to prevent paradoxical motion, and adequate protection must be provided to the
mediastinal structures.
A 37-year-old male patient with full-thickness defect on the left anterior thoracic cavity due to traffic accident was treated. Emergency operation was performed for debridement and bleeding control, and on postoperative 25 days, chest wall
reconstruction was performed as a second-stage operation. Left anterior chest wall was reconstructed with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap which had thoracodorsal arterial pedicle, and split-thickness skin grft from the left thigh was done.
After
chest wall reconstruction, spontaneous self-respiration was possible without ventilatory support. The pulmonary function test performed at postoperative 3 months revealed 80% of predicted values(FVC, FEV1.0). The postoperative result of chest
wall
reconstruction using latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap was excellent anatomically, physiologically and aesthetically.
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